Konoha and Equestrian Reading Kouma Shōkan: The Whirling Maelstrom
by Dylan Millwood
Summary: A story request by pain17ification. A mix of Chakra and Equestrian Magic creates a pocket dimension that Naruto, Shino, Sai, Choji, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, Might Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Anko get trapped in along with the Mane Six, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Chrysalis. And the only way out is a book about themselves!
1. Chapter 1

Naruto grinned. He had FINALLY tracked down the old horn dog's notes and, much to his delight, rather than smut, it was instructions for a space-time transportation jutsu!

So now that he knew one, Tsunade wanted him to test it out to see both if it was authentic, AND to see if he could handle it.

So here he was, standing in front of Shino Aburame, Sai, Chōji Akimichi, Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru, Rock Lee, Shikamaru Nara, Tenten, Ino Yamanaka, Might Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Anko.

"Ok, Naruto...try it." the Fifth Hokage ordered.

Naruto nodded and formed the seals before there was a flash of light and everyone blacked out...

* * *

Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes.

"NARUTO! YOU IDIOT!" Sakura screamed.

That woke him up fully. Who other than the dead could stand Sakura's shouting?

He sat up and the others were all frowning at him.

"Naruto...What did you do?" Kakashi asked.

"All I did was follow the signs like they were written in the Pervy Sage's notes...where are we?" Naruto said as he stood.

They looked around and found themselves in a large room with an office table, a couple of couches, and a projector. The floor is a firm carpet and the walls were a dark color.

"We were asked to let you know what was going on." A new voice said.

Naruto recognized the voice and whipped around to see a man standing behind him, as well as the woman beside him.

"M-M-M-MOM?! DAD?!" the Uzumaki said, eyes huge.

At that, the Konoha shinobi's eyes all widened. If Naruto's parents were here, that had to mean...!

"...We're all dead, aren't we?" Sakura said faintly. Then turned on Naruto, fists raised.

"Touch my son and you WILL be dead." Kushina said seriously.

The Haruno froze. In her mind, Inner-Sakura was pointing out a math problem on a massive SMART board:

Fourth Hokage's Wife + Angry, Protective Mother = Hellish Agony! Conclusion: DON'T DO IT!

Sakura quickly sat down on one of the chairs and tried to get her heart to resume beating.

"Pocket dimension. Mixed energies. One of them is chakra, and the other...I have no clue." Minato explained as he sat down, the other Konoha ninjas following the Fourth's lead, noting that, much to Hinata's disappointment, Minato and Kushina took the ones on both sides of Naruto.

Minato looked at the clock on one of the walls. "If I'm guessing right...those mixed energies outta bring whoever else was responsible for this place coming into existence right about..."

There was a flash of aurora-colored light and when it faded, the group looked to see a group of weirdly-colored horses laying on the ground.

Two had wings, two were normal, and one had a horn, the last three had both wings AND a horn.

As the ninjas all watched, the horses changed into humans.

The cyan one had slightly pale blue skin and rainbow colored hair that draped over her left shoulder and frizzed at the ends. She was dressed in a black shirt that had a cloud shooting a rainbow colored lightning bolt portrayed on the front, dark blue cargo pants, and black kunoichi sandals. Around her neck was a pendant of a bright blue pegasus.

The second had tanned skin and had her long blonde hair tied in a low ponytail while a western hat, with three apples styled on it, rested atop her head. She was dressed in a red and white plaid shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a pair of dark blue jeans, and some brown boots. Around her neck was a necklace with an orange horse.

The third had slightly pale skin and blue eyeliner on her face. Her purple and blue her was styled beautifully straight with curled ends and framed her face magnificently. She was dressed in a white dress what reached her knees and sandals that matched the blue streaks in her hair. Over the heart of the dress were three crystal-like markings while a white unicorn pendant hung around her neck.

The fourth woman had a slight purple tint to her skin that made people who noticed her think she was from an exotic country. Her dark blue hair flowed straight down her back while the purple and red streaks added to her charm. She was dressed in a dark purple shirt and black cargo pants while she wore dark blue sandals on her feet. A pendant of a purple unicorn with wings hung around her neck.

The fifth had a light yellow tint to her skin while her pink hair flowed down to her mid back and curved out at the ends. She wore a green shirt with a design of three blue butterflies with pink wings on the front just under her yellow pegasus pendant. She wore a light yellow skirt that fell past her knees and green sandals. She had this incredibly shy aura.

The sixth had skin with the faintest undertone of pink that many people failed to see. Her dark pink seemed to poof out all the way down to her lower back. She wore a pink shirt with the sleeves and collar lined in black that had three balloons styled over her heart. Her shorts were gray and stopped right at her knees while her feet were covered in black sandals. Her attire was finished by her pink horse pendant.

There was also a black horse-like creature with a twisted horn, a pair of tattered insectoid wings, a sharp pair of fangs and dark green eyes with elongated oval pupils. It also had had a teal mane and tail, blue-green chitinous plating over it's midsection, and wore what looked like a small, black crown tipped with blue orbs. The legs, mane, and tail were full of holes, and it's limbs and torso were very slender. Her wings, full of holes like her other body parts, end in sharp points.

The last two had tiaras fit for royalty on their heads. The first had a slightly pale complexion and wore a beautiful white dress while her colorful hair seemed to wave in a nonexistent breeze. The other had a darker complexion, wore a midnight blue dress, and had sparkles reminiscent of stars in her waving hair.

The horses, now humans, all awoke slowly and then glared at the transformed bug-horse thing.

"Chrysalis!" the girls shouted, glaring at her.

"Well, well, well...Twilight and her little friends are here." the woman, Chrysalis, said, then frowned at the sight of them. Then the black horse-creature was covered in bright emerald green flames before where it stood was a chocolate skinned woman with deep cerulean hair, a crown with a horn, and translucent cyan wings. She was dressed in a dark green kimono that was held together by a cyan obi.

"Guess this form will do." she said.

"What?!"

"Have any of you seen yourselves lately?" Chrysalis asked smugly.

The former horses all did, and instantly freaked out before the lavender one glared at the woman again.

"You...you shape-shifting...WHAT DID YOU DO TO US?!" the violet one shouted, but before a fight could start, Minato cleared his throat.

"I hope you don't mind us." he said, drawing the other's attention to the group of ninjas.

"Who're you?" the pink girl asked.

Minato stood up and introduced Shino, Sai, Chōji, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, Might Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, Tsunade, Anko, kushina, himself and Naruto to the girls.

At that, for the sake of being polite, the girls all introduced themselves as Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

"...and this witch is Chrysalis" Twilight said, glaring at the woman in question before there was another distortion in space and suddenly, a book sat on the table. Naruto blinked, that hadn't been there before. He picked it up and read the title:

 _ **Kouma Shōkan: The Whirling Maelstrom**_

"Eh?" Naruto asked.

"Seems however we were all sent here resulted in the energies of our realities mixing together and made a story of it. A kind of alternate timeline book." The woman who had been the bug-winged horse creature said. "If that's the case, our way out seems tied to reading this book. Well...while I would love a good fight, as long as we're all stuck here, I suppose calling a truce is the only option here..." Chrysalis sighed regretfully, moving to the table and taking a seat.

The others followed her example and sat down, thought the ninjas noticed that none of the horse-turned-humans looked all that thrilled over sitting with Chrysalis.

"How do you even know that?" Twilight demanded.

"I don't. But you have any better ideas?" the Changeling queen said with a shrug.

"I'll read first, then." Twilight offered.

"There's a shocker..." Rainbow Dash muttered. then turned to the rest of her friends and muttered something, to which they all nodded as Twilight opened the book to chapter one.

 ** _Chapter 1: At Long Last…_**

As the chapter of the book got read, the projector started up itself and everyone looked at it to see it was going along with the story as it was being read, the fact that the screen showed the words " _Chapter 1: At Long Last..._ " was a dead giveaway about that.

"So we can watch and read the story, huh? Cool!" Naruto said.

"What's it say?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

 **Inside a hidden shack outside of the village Konoha, a blonde teen dressed in an orange jumpsuit sat in silence and tranquility.**

At that line, Naruto paled. HE was the main character?!

 **He felt at home here in this tiny shack, away from the village and the scornful and simple-minded villagers. In truth, the blonde pitied the villagers for their naïveté in concerns to shinobi affairs and village "secrets".**

Naruto winced. He was gonna HATE this! He just knew it! The opening was bad enough.

"Wait...if you're here," Twilight said, pointing at Naruto, (hiding how freaked out she was at having hands and fingers behind her curiosity), "then does that mean this story is from your point of view?"

"Awesome!" Pinkie Pie said, her voice full of excitement, as always. "Now we get to read Naruto's thoughts!"

Naruto paled. His eyes were as wide as a deer's when it's caught in headlights. His teeth clamped down on the inside of his cheek to prevent him from screaming.

 _'Nononononononononnononono!'_ Naruto chanted in his mind. _'_ _There is **NO WAY IN HELL** am I letting these guys read my thoughts! I don't care if I have to **burn ** the stupid thing! They are not reading my thoughts! Not now, not ever!'_

Naruto inhaling sharply. Wait a minute! The blond teen almost clapped his hands in excitement, but restrained himself.

 _'That's it! That's it! All I have to do is burn the stupid book! I'm saved!'_

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing from relief.

Minato and Kushina gave their son a sideways glance then locked eyes with one another, already knowing what he was thinking; he was their kid after all. And it was like a journal or diary. He obviously wanted to keep what's in it private. After all, who would WANT people reading their personal thoughts?

 **He scoffed at the last thought. Secrets… It was no secret that he was despised by the adult villagers and that they were doing everything they could to make the younger generation hate him as well.**

"WHAT?!" the mane six cried, shocked.

Luna and Celestia frowned deeply at that, seeing as the Elements of Harmony were concentrated, condensed virtues that nearly all of Equestria lived by, they didn't like the idea of ANYONE having to live like that!

"Uh...any chance we can skip this part?" Naruto pleaded.

"Never!" Twilight said, holding the book tighter.

"Ah, knock it off, Egghead. So he wants to skip to where we come in, big deal. That just makes the story better." Rainbow Dash said.

 _'Not exactly, but that'll do for an excuse! Thanks, Dash!'_ Naruto thought.

"Well how can we know when we come in unless we read the whole thing?" Twilight said simply.

"...I HATE logic!" Naruto and Rainbow Dash both groaned in unison, burying their faces in their hands and shaking their heads. Everyone watching the pair were amused.

 **Years ago, the Sandaime Hokage – a wise, but at the same time foolish man**

Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji all gave Naruto a look. They could guess where this was coming from. After all, years ago, Asuma-sensei had a disagreement with his father and left Konoha to pursue his personal interests. During his absence, he had became one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

 **– placed a law in regards to the blonde's…condition. The law stated that mentioning his condition was punishable by death.**

"Say wha...?" Pinkie said

"That pretty extreme, don't you think...?"Fluttershy voiced.

"Just wait...it gets better..." Naruto muttered sourly.

 **Of course, like all laws, the people found ways around it. They didn't speak of his condition, but that didn't stop them from hinting at it or lying about the blonde to keep the hatred for him strong. And the children of these hateful adults listened to their parents without question…like sheep trusting their shepherd without a second thought.**

The transformed equestrians all winced.

"Don't." Naruto said as everyone looked at him, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Save it... I don't need or want your pity. It won't do me a damn thing. That's not to say I don't appreciate it, but I've found that you can either piss and moan feeling sorry for yourself OR you can get up and actually do things to improve the situation. That's why I don't accept pity."

The mane six, the princess sisters, and everyone else from Konoha all looked at Naruto.

Kushina short her husband an ugly "I-told-you-so" look.

 **He sighed tiredly at his life so far. At this point, the people who treated him like a person was only a handful at best; the Sandaime, the father-daughter chef duo, two or three Jonin, and possibly a couple of Genin. At most, the total was around ten. At least, it was around four or five.**

Everyone winced, Naruto had told them he didn't want pity, but they still found this messed up.

 **Hardly anything in a village totaling in the thousands, if not hundred thousands…**

"I said don't! I don't want pity...but for the record, I wanted to SKIP this part, but oh-nooooo! Just had to read it!" Naruto hissed, glaring at Twilight.

Said mare-turned-human winced at the look, but she couldn't really blame him for being upset.

 **The teen shook his head to prevent his mind from going down that depressing road once again. He'd walked down it far too many times to even care anymore and had finally decided to ignore those who scorn him.**

The pony-girls shred a glance and grimaced. So used to hate that he could just block it out? What was WRONG with the pon...er...people there?! How could they do that to someone?!

 **He also made a point to visit this shack every day; his home away from home. No one knew of it, or at least he believed no one else did.**

 **In truth, the shack was actually a shrine for a lost clan; his clan.**

At that, Kushina's eyes widened.

 **The clan was once a village that was allied with Konoha before it was destroyed by a joint assault from two of the five main villages.**

The Konoha shinobi all winced, Naruto and Kushina worst of all.

 **How did he know this? He read it in a journal; but not just any journal. No, this journal was written and owned by a member of the clan that was alive long after the passing of the Shodaime Hokage.**

Kushina's jaw dropped. No...way...!

 **The journal he had in his hand once belonged to Uzumaki Mito, his ancestor and wife of the late Shodaime.**

Kushina nodded. Knew it.

 **For nearly two years, he had spent an hour or so a day reading and rereading the journal so that he could see what life in Konoha was like for the famous Uzumaki. He was currently on his fourth reread of the journal to date.**

Twilight whistled. She understood that. A good book always got re-read!

 _ **"It's been so long since Hashirama-kun passed. I've lost track of how long years ago and spend most of my days in our home watching the village grow and mature from the sapling that my husband planted into the budding tree it has become today.**_

 _ **Yet, I can't help but feel with each passing day that I am becoming more and more unwelcome here. The villagers who once looked to me with respect and kindness now look at me with veiled fear and distrust.**_

 _ **It escaped me for the first few years as to why this change had occurred. But I know the truth now. The Kyuubi I keep at bay is what they fear. Since the passing of Hashirama-kun, I have felt the negativity in the village grow with each passing week. They fear that I will let the fox free now that the 'only' person who could control it is gone.**_

 _ **I cannot help but pity them for letting fear cloud their better instincts and judgment. I was capable of sealing the fox within me without any kind of drawback, but they don't care. Hashirama-kun was capable of controlling all of the Bijuu with his infamous Mokuton, and the villagers are afraid that their 'last defense' against the fox being freed is gone.**_

 _ **I am counting down the days until I believe their fear will turn more hostile."**_

Twilight blanched, all color draining from her face. Ok...so she was wrong...

 **The blonde sighed as he finished reading the passage. He carefully closed the aged journal and placed it neatly back in the shelf he found it on in the shrine. With a resigned expression, he made his way out of the shrine and back to the village. His team had their first C-Rank Mission today and he had to be ready.**

 **Putting up his mask of naïveté and innocence, he made his way back to the village while mentally promising to return to the shrine as soon as he came back.**

"Hate masking me feelings like that...felt like I had to strangle and suffocate my own heart to preserve my sanity..." Naruto shuttered.

 **[Two Weeks Later]**

"A timeskip?" Kiba asked, "...I don't get it."

Everyone else rolled their eyes. Dumb dog!

 **The blonde walked into the shrine with a somber expression on his face. The mission had gone from bad to worse from the very beginning**

Minato and Kushina paled. Sure they knew stuff like that could happen on a mission, but the idea of their son being in harms way naturally scared them. They were parents, after all.

 **starting with the ambush against their client and the reveal of him lying to them.**

"...Wave Mission?" Sakura asked.

Naruto nodded grimly, "Seems like."

 **The rest of the mission just went downhill from there, but the biggest blow to his psyche was the girl he met seeing herself as nothing more than a tool; a weapon for a man who didn't show he cared for her until she was gone from the world.**

"What kind of messed-up place do you COME FROM?!" Twilight demanded.

Naruto didn't say anything. At least this alternate version of Haku was actually a girl! He still hadn't gotten over how weird THAT can of worms was!

 **It hurt seeing the girl just throw away her life like that without any remorse only to have her sacrifice be in vain due to the man she saved getting himself killed as he tried to avenge her.**

"...I can't approve of revenge, but at least he cared enough to go that far." Luna said somberly.

 **The blonde had buried them on a hill overlooking the port village with regret as he kept thinking how things could've been different.**

"And here come the what-ifs." Shikamaru said.

 **He could've helped them seek asylum in the village. He could've tried harder to convince the girl that her life was more than being a tool. He could've done a lot of things, but he didn't. He had failed two people who could've turned a new leaf and started a fresh life.**

Naruto winced.

 **His mind kept running over what he could've done while his body moved on autopilot and grabbed Mito's journal from the shelf. When he opened the book, his mind finally stopped thinking over the mission in favor of rereading Mito's thoughts.**

"Goodie...more grim times." Choji muttered without enthusiasm.

 _ **"Kushina visited me again today.**_

Kushina cringed and Naruto plugged his ears. He knew his mom had a happy life in spite of being a Jinchuuriki, but that didn't mean he was ok with associating his mother with that damnable title!

 _ **Such a sweet and spirited girl… She reminds me of how I used to be at her age. It pains my heart every time I think of how she may lose that free spiritedness when the fox is transferred from my body to hers. My time is nearing an end while hers is barely beginning.**_

Kushina winced. Bad memories...

Minato took her hand.

 _ **A large part of me is very tempted to just let the fox reside in me as I pass on, but I know Hashirama-kun sacrificed so much for the fox to remain in Konoha. It seems petty and far too prideful in favor of the village to let this continue,**_

"No kidding!" Naruto hissed angrily.

 _ **but I can't help but want to honor my husband's sacrifice. He was a good man and he always had the intentions of the people over his own. A good man; a good husband…**_

"The one good apple in a bad bunch..." Applejack said, shaking her head with disgust.

 _ **I have asked my friends to watch over Kushina and help her retain some aspect of love. It is something that I have noticed over the years I held the fox; love counters its hate and so long as the container has love, the hatred will stay locked away.**_

The natives of Equestria nodded, grinning. Whoever these friends of Mito's were, they had their support.

Twilight returned her focus to the story and gasped, her jaw practically unhinging itself and her eyes went huge. "N...N-n-no way!"

"What is it?"

 _ **Celestia and Luna**_

"SAY WHAT?!" the transformed ponies cried in sheer shock.

 _ **were more than happy to take upon my request, but they need Kushina to summon the contract in order for them to aid her.**_

"S-S-Summon?! Contract?!" Rarity sputtered, flabbergasted.

Queen Chrysalis laughed, she wished she could tape this!

 _ **I still can't help but slap myself at the fact that I have forgotten where the contract resides.**_

"Oh, come ON! She lost something like that?!" everyone shouted.

 _ **The one thing I believed I could do to help Kushina, and I don't even have the necessities to do so. Kami-sama, have mercy on this foolish woman for her mistake and watch over Kushina-chan…**_

 _ **Heaven knows that she will need it for the life she will soon live."**_

Minato and Naruto both growled at that.

 **The blonde closed the journal with a sad sigh. When he first read that passage, he tried to look up information regarding Kushina, Celestia, or Luna. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in finding anything about them.**

Minato and Kushina went livid at that. Couldn't find...?!

"Oh...the Third and the other political figures are so damn lucky we're dead!" Kushina snarled.

 _ **After weeks of searching, he finally figured that they were some kind of secret that only certain people were privy to know.**_

Minato stabbed a tri-pronged Kunai into the table, furious. Naruto had more right then anyone to know who they were!

 _ **Even now, he still wonders**_

"Should be the word "wondered", actually." Twilight said.

The other Mane Six members all looked at one another, then checked the clock. Rainbow Dash held out a hand expectantly. The others grumbled and passed her some money.

"Twilight's OCD... I bet on how long until she found something to bug her about the way the story was written." the multi-colored female said, pocketing the bits with a smirk.

 _ **who those three were. He knows that Kushina couldn't be alive since the Kyuubi now resides in his body, but that didn't mean that Celestia or Luna were dead yet.**_

Everyone from Equestria, with the exception of Chrysalis, glared at Naruto.

"Relax...it's the version of him that lives in this story's reality. Getting mad at him for what some other version of himself thought is pretty pointless." the changeling queen smirked. Though she DID like the idea of Celestia and Luna being dead...

The others stopped glaring and returned their attention to the book.

 **He looked out the shrine window and frowned at the darkening sky. It was late and he couldn't sleep here since the Hokage could have a need to contact him. So, he placed the book back and made his way back to his apartment, where an empty room full of loneliness awaited him.**

Just how many times were Naruto's parents and the Equestrians going to cringe?

 **[Two Days Later]**

"Another timeskip already?" Tenten asked.

 **The blonde was seen leaning against a wall with the journal he was rereading on its last passage.**

Kushina bit her lip. She knew where this was going.

 _ **"My time has almost reached its end. I can feel the fox trying desperately to escape my weakening body. The transfer is set to happen this evening and I know that Kushina-chan is still afraid.**_

"Understatement..." the redhead shuttered.

 _ **I had explained to her exactly what was going to happen the week before and she took it precisely as I predicted she would; fearful and panicked. Why wouldn't she be? A cataclysmic creature is being placed into her and she is the only thing holding it back from escaping and causing mass mayhem. Of course she'd be afraid.**_

"But no pressure, right?" Naruto growled, his nails turning into claws and raking gouges into the table.

 _ **I worry for her… The other Uzumaki have left the village, leaving just me and Kushina-chan within its walls. She'll be alone with no family to call upon and a burden fit for a village full of Jonin within her. Such a life I would not wish upon even my greatest enemy.**_

"...How could they do this to people?" Fluttershy whispered, aghast.

 _ **I tried finding that blasted scroll again, but I was once again unsuccessful. Even my friends – the ones I see as family – will be unable to assist her. My heart is breaking as I keep thinking of how her life will be in the village as the Kyuubi Jinchuriki and last remaining Uzumaki.**_

Kushina bit back a sob at the memory of thinking about that.

 _ **My time is nearly spent… I have but one last thing to write to whoever has found this. Remember that your family is everything. A village will always betray you eventually, but family stays loyal no matter what.**_

 _ **If you, my dear reader, are of my clan, then this lesson is our Clan's Creed; family over pride, family over glory, family over all.**_

 _ **Never forget…"**_

The Mane Six and princess sisters all smiled softly at that. It was a good creed. One WORTH supporting.

 **The blonde had a hollow smile on his face as he closed the journal. If his Clan's Creed was all about family loyalty, then where was his family? Why were he and this Kushina woman alone in the village without any of the family there to help them?**

Everyone cringed, while Kushina was conflicted between strangling her husband and hugging the daylights out of her son. She'd TOLD him the villagers wouldn't take things well! But NO! Damn his faith in others! Those stupid villagers were too hostile to want to let go of their hate! Preserve the balance of power between the Nations and the Tailed Beasts! YEAH RIGHT!

 **He sighed sadly as he made to return the book, but tripped on a loose floorboard. He fell towards the bookshelf and reached out to one of the many shelves to steady himself, but his hand grasped a scroll instead and he braced for the impact with the floor.**

"Turning point?" everyone asked, starting to grin.

 **However, he met resistance…as if he was grasping a door or wall. He looked to his arm and saw it pulling on the scroll from the shelf. His head tilted in curiosity before he heard a loud and echoing click from behind the shelf.**

"Turning point!" Twilight said with satisfaction.

 **Before his eyes, the shelf and the wall it leaned against spun around and revealed a hidden tunnel way that was lit by old torches. He slowly stood back to his feet and headed inside, noticing that the torches had seals on them that were most likely keeping them lit.**

Minato and Kushina grinned. This was getting better for their son's other!

 **During his many visits to this shrine, he didn't just read the journal. No, he also read and studied the many scrolls that went over lessons on fuinjutsu and was instantly amazed at how useful and diverse the art was. After two years of visiting the shrine, he believed that he was at an adept level,**

Minato whistled and tousled his son's hair, Kushina hugged him fully proud.

 **but he needed an experienced fuinjutsu user to examine his skill level.**

Tenten frowned at that. Seeing as how she was good at fuinjutsu, if she were experienced enough, she would have GLADLY given Naruto her two cents on the subject.

 **As he made his way down the tunnel, he noticed that the air had gone from ancient and tranquil to inviting and warm. His curiosity was growing at the feeling as he finally entered a small rounded room with a single pedestal in the center that had a scroll and piece of paper on it.**

"Ho...!" everyone perked up.

"Check the secret passage...she forgot to check the secret passage..." Minato said, shaking his head haplessly.

 **He approached the pedestal and read the paper that rested on the scroll.**

 _ **"To the reader:**_

 _ **This scroll is a prized possession of the people that hail from the islands with swirling tides. If you are of this swirling clan, then open the scroll and claim what is yours by right. If you are not, then turn back or risk being lost to this world forever."**_

"Well...that's encouraging." Anko pipped up.

 **"Islands with swirling tides…" murmured the blonde before the answer came to him. "The Uzumaki…"**

 **Setting the paper aside, he grabbed the scroll and observed the design. The scroll itself was a dull yellow with the edges splashed with vibrant red in a wave-like design. He sat on the ground and opened the scroll, looking to the many Uzumaki who signed it; the most recent being Uzumaki Mito.**

"Until Now~~~~~!" Pinkie Pie cheered. Everyone grinned and nodded in agreement.

 **"This must be that scroll she tried to find," he muttered to no one as he bit his thumb and began to sign the scroll.**

 **After reading about Mito having a Summoning Scroll, the teen had asked the Sandaime about them. The aged Kage was happy to tell the boy the mechanics behind Summoning Contracts, Scrolls, and Animals. He told of how the scroll works, how each contract had a different sequence of seals, and how each summoning animal clan had different rules or guidelines for their summoners to follow.**

"Glad he explained that." Naruto said.

 **Using the knowledge he was given, the blonde signed his name in his own blood before he placed a bloody handprint of his right palm underneath it.**

 **Just as he finished, he felt a pull on his form before he disappeared in a plume of smoke.**

"Huh?!"

"But...but he..." Pinkie said, stunned.

"Will you horse-girls relax? it's just reverse-summoning...he's going to where you guy's from." Tenten said.

Twilight immediately stuck the book back in her face, suddenly all the more excited.

 **[Summon Realm (moments before)]**

 **In the throne room of a castle that rested on clouds,**

The equestrians all smiled and sighed blissfully, but Chrysalis stuck her finger in her mouth, tongue hanging out, the universal sign for "gag me".

 **two creatures with having a calm discussion about the worrying news concerning their summoning race as of late.**

"CREATURES?!" the Mane Six all shouted in outrage.

 **The first had the appearance of a large white horse. However, it also had a pair of white wings and a horn on its head. The mane and tail of the horse was also strange; they were blue, green, purple, and pink and had a flowing motion even as it stood in place. On its flank was a mark in the design of the sun while it wore noble jewelry around its neck and on its head. Its bright purple eyes contained much wisdom, kindness, and authority.**

 **The second creature was the same as the first but had many differences. For starters, the color of its coat, wings, and horn were a very dark, almost midnight, blue. The mane and tail had the colors of a clear night sky, complete with sparkles to represent the stars, and was translucent enough to see through it at some points. The mark on its flank was in the design of a white crescent moon and the jewelry it wore was near black in color with the one around the neck bearing the mark on its flank. Like the first, its dark blue eyes showed wisdom and authority; but the kindness seemed to be more regretful than anything.**

 **These two were Celestia and Luna, the Head Summons of the Uzumaki Clan's Summoning Contract. They were known as alicorns; horses with the wings of pegasi and the horns of unicorns.**

"Alcorns...? What a stupid name! Sounds like some freaky convenience store snack food!" Kiba laughed.

A second later, he was tackled by the Mane Six, who proceeded to beat the Inuzuka senseless until a green light surrounded them and they were lifted into the air.

"Hey! Let us go! He deserves it!"

"Oh I would gladly, you have no idea how much fun it is for me to see you goodie-goodies so outraged and violent. But stop and think how those princesses of yours'd take it if they learned they were used as why you killed someone in cold blood by beating them to death all because thee mass the was supposed to go to developing a brain went to their mouth instead!" Chrysalis cackled.

The ponies that had turned into humans gapped, horrified, then turned to Celestia and Luna, who were both frowning at them with deep disapproval.

Seeing their reactions, Chrysalis released them and they sat back down.

 **"We are running out of time, my sister," Luna stated in a sorrowful tone. "After Mito's passing, we have lost all contact with the outside world. Soon our contract will vanish."**

 **Celestia nodded with a slight frown. "Indeed… This is a most troubling time. If an Uzumaki doesn't find our contract soon, we will no longer be considered summoning creatures and will be forced to leave our realm and live amongst the humans in their realm; much like the dragons were forced to years ago."**

The Mane Six growled. Alternate world or not, they didn't like the idea of Equestria losing EVERYTHING all because of a misplaced roll of paper!

 **Luna gazed out the window of their castle with a sense of fading hope. "What should we tell our people?"**

 **The white alicorn sighed and was about to speak before the two felt a tug on their minds and turned their heads to the scroll on the wall next to them so quick that they could've suffered whiplash. On the scroll, underneath Mito's name, they saw a name start to slowly appear.**

 **"Uzumaki…" Luna began.**

 **"…Naruto," Celestia finished in slight shock as the name was then accompanied by a handprint. As soon as it was there, Celestia turned to her sister and they both nodded before they focused their power on the scroll.**

 **" _Onmyōton: Gyaku Kuchiyose (Yin-Yang Release: Reverse Summon)_!" they cried out together as the newest name on the scroll lit up and a plume of smoke appeared in the center of the room.**

* * *

"But...we can't do that!" Celestia cried in surprise.

"Alternate world." Rainbow Dash said.

"...WAIT!" Twilight cried, "THAT'S what happened, it's how we're all here! Somehow the wavelengths of Equestrian magic and the stuff you ninjas all use must have crossed!"

 **When it cleared, the two alicorns gazed at the human they had brought to their realm. He stood at a height of 5'8", had hair as gold as sunlight, had strange whisker-like markings on his cheeks, and blue eyes as bright as sapphire. He wore blue shinobi sandals, an orange jumpsuit with some blue and white thrown in, and a blue headband with the symbol of Konoha on it. On the back of his jumpsuit was the red spiral of the Uzumaki Clan.**

"Well...not a bad level of attention to detail." Naruto shrugged.

 **He was coughing and waving his arm around to clear the smoke before he focused on his surroundings. The room he was in seemed fit for royalty**

"Well duh!" Pinkie said.

 **and he couldn't help but silently marvel at the decorations that brought out the nobility of the room.**

 **A clearing of the throat was heard and he turned to see the two alicorns gazing at him; one in shock and the other with a kind smile. The smiling white one stepped forward until she was right in front of him and bent her head down to look him in the eyes. He was confused as to what she was doing, but he didn't turn his gaze from hers.**

"Well, at least he isn't rude about it." Kushina said with approval.

 **After some time, she pulled back and nodded with her smile growing ever so slightly. "Welcome to our realm, young Uzumaki. You cannot fathom how long our people have awaited a summoner to arrive here. I am Celestia, one of the Head Summons**

"Head summon?! Oh...that's just...! She's the elder of the two rulers of Equestria and controls the sun! Simply calling her a "Head Summon" is an INSULT!"

"Control over...?" Tsunade started to say.

"Primordial incarnate with control over the day, she can. Her little sister has control over the night." Chrysalis explained boredly.

 **and the raiser of the sun in this realm. Behind me is my sister Luna, the other Head Summon and raiser of the moon."**

"Thanks for explaining that." Naruto told Chrysalis. The changeling queen rolled her eyes.

 **The blonde leaned to his side slightly so that he could get a better look at Luna and offered a small wave. She returned the gesture with a small nod and a faint smile. As his blue eyes returned to Celestia's purple ones, he questioned, "So, how did I get here? Did the scroll bring me?"**

 **"In a sense," answered the white alicorn as she motioned for him to follow her with her wing. The three of them were walking down a hallway of the castle as she continued, "The scroll acted as a medium for my sister and I to use our powers to bring you here. We reverse summoned you so that we could see you for ourselves."**

 **"Summoners can be summoned too?" asked the Uzumaki in slight surprise.**

 **"That is correct," Luna answered. "It usually only occurs when a Summon Clan has some important news for their summoner. In this sense, we did it to test your worth for ourselves."**

 **The blonde nodded as he glanced at the decorated halls. The Sandaime had told him that, while also having rules and guidelines, Summon Clans test their potential summoners to see if they have what it takes. "So, what is my test?"**

 **Celestia led the two of them to a chariot of sorts that had a team of pegasi leading it.**

"Really? Horses with horse-drawn transportation? Really?" Ino asked.

"Other reality, its not that way where we're from." Twilight said, before going back to the book.

 **"For your test to occur, we must go down to the lower city. Once there, I will call the six who will test you."**

 **Naruto nodded and carefully stepped inside the chariot with them, but he had to hold on to one of their legs since it wasn't built to carry humans.**

"Really? We couldn't tell." Choji chuckled.

 **The ride itself was actually enjoyable to him. The feeling of the wind in his face and the peacefulness of the realm itself was indescribable to one who knew nothing but scorn and rejection his entire life.**

Naruto's parents as well as the Mane Six sighed in relief, seemed things were already getting better for Naruto's other shelf.

 **Once the chariot landed, the three stepped off and Celestia had her horn glow a bright white before a shot of energy flew into the air and exploded much like a flare.**

 **"They will be here shortly," she assured as they waited patiently. Sure enough, not much time later, the blonde caught sight of six ponies calmly heading their way.**

"Twilight? Calm?!" Rainbow Dash said.

"What?!" Twilight snapped at her friend's incredulous tone.

"When it comes to Celestia, you're even more crazy and tightly wound up than Pinkie Pie!" Rarity said.

Twilight blushed in embarrassment at that. Worst part was...it was true! What was more, she was proud of it!

 **The first was a unicorn with a light purple coat and horn. Her mane and tail were colored dark blue with a streak of rose and violet. She had purple eyes and a mark on her flank that was in the design of a rose colored six-point star surrounded by white sparkles.**

Twilight grinned.

 **The next was a simple pony with an orange coat and a blonde mane and tail. Both the mane and tail were held like a human's ponytail and her green eyes brought some distinction to her. She wore what Naruto could only assume was a cowgirl hat and her flank had a mark in the design of three apples on it.**

Applejack tilted her hat at the mention of her other self.

 **The third was a pegasus with a bright blue coat and wings. She had red-violet eyes while her hair and mane were colored like a rainbow and were slightly spiked, making her appear to be a tomboy to Naruto. Her flank's mark was in the design of a cloud with a rainbow coming out of it like a bolt of lightning.**

"Sup," Rainbow Dash said, grinning as she swung her legs over and propped her feet on the table.

 **The fourth was another pegasus with a pale yellow coat and smooth light pink hair. She had cyan blue eyes and her mark was designed as three blue butterflies with pale purple wings. She had this timid, yet innocent, aura about her that reminded Naruto of that Hyuuga girl that was in his graduating class.**

Hinata and Fluttershy both blushed at that.

 **The fifth was a unicorn with a white coat and horn. Her purple-blue mane and tail were styled into two long curls, giving Naruto the feeling that she enjoyed style. Her azure blue eyes were enhanced by the sky blue eye shadow and her mark looked like three bright blue diamonds.**

Rarity nodded in satisfaction at the mention of her other self.

 **The last mare was a pony that already had Naruto giving an unnoticeable smile. She had a light pink coat that had a mark in the design of three balloons – one yellow and two blue – on her flank. Her hair and mane were a darker, almost red, pink and were both "poofed" in a way that made her already happy and cheerful aura more pronounced. She had bright blue eyes like his and a near constant smile of joy on her face.**

Pinkie Pie whooped.

 **When they reached the two alicorns and human teen, Celestia turned to the blonde and declared, "Naruto, these will be your testers." She then gestured to each and said, "They are Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie."**

 **Luna then gestured to the Uzumaki and introduced, "Girls, this is Uzumaki Naruto. You are to see if he has what it takes to be our summoner."**

The pony-humans glared at Naruto, but he held up his hands, "How many times will I have to say this: Other. Reality. I know you guys aren't summons!"

 **Twilight stepped up and asked, "How do we test him?"**

 **Celestia smiled and answered, "See if he has the qualities of the Elements of Harmony."**

"The what?" Naruto asked.

 **While Naruto looked confused, the six mares nodded and Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "Okay, I'll go first. My element is Loyalty, so let's see if you got what it takes." When he nodded, she asked, "If you had to choose between your home and someone you cherish, what would you choose?"**

"...Really?! Just a Q&A session?! That's it? THAT'S the best you can come up with for something so important?!" Chrysalis laughed, causing the Mane Six to

 **His answer was immediate. "I'd choose my loved one. Mito-sama said that family is everything, and while I have no family of my own, I have those who I will protect with my life."**

"Sounds like you, exactly." Sai said.

Rainbow Dash looked over at the orange-and-black clad bland and grinned. She could work with a guy like this, no sweat.

 **Dash looked to the two alicorns and they nodded, showing that he was being truthful. The pegasus nodded to him and said, "You pass my test, Blondie."**

 **Applejack was next and she tipped her hat to him in greeting. "Alright partner, my element is Honesty. I want you to tell me something truthful that comes from your heart and soul."**

 **The blonde looked slightly reluctant to do so, but he nodded. "I…I hold the Kyuubi no Kitsune within me, just as Mito-sama and Kushina-san did in the past."**

 **The orange coated mare looked to her leaders, who both nodded sadly, and offered the blonde her hoof. When he slowly grabbed it, she pulled him in for a gentle hug, surprising him greatly.**

"No kidding, he's being hugged by a chatty barn animal." Sakura said.

 **"You have Honesty, even amongst strangers. But you should also know that you have our support, Naruto. We don't see you as the fox and we never will; remember that."**

"And look at that, a "chatty barn animal" is better at following my dying wish than all of Konoha. Any more commentary, Haruno-san?" Minato said.

Sakura went pale and closed her mouth, shaking her head while the rest of the Konoha half of the group, except for Naruto, all looked ashamed.

 **When they separated, the Uzumaki nodded to her in thanks while Rarity stepped forward. She spent a good five minutes circling him and humming in thought while most of the other mares rolled their eyes at what she was bound to say. When she finally stopped circling him, she frowned slightly. "Well darling, I believe that a change of wardrobe is long overdue.**

"Indeed! He needs less orange!" Rarity said.

"Hey!" Naruto snapped, "I like orange!"

 **Whether you pass or not, visit my store when we're finished and I'll see what I can whip up for you."**

"...Really? THAT'S the first thing you say to him?" Rarity's friends all asked her, giving her flat looks. It didn't really surprise them.

"It's like there's two Inos...and one of 'ems a horse!" Choji told Shikamaru in a loud whisper.

The Nara nodded "I know...I'm officially scared." he muttered back before Ino knocked both her male teammates over the head with a huff.

 **"Uh… Okay?" he said a little unsurely, making her nod with a smile.**

 **"Very good. Now dear, my element is Generosity. Have you ever given or done something for someone with no expectancy of compensation?"**

 **The blonde closed his eyes and searched his memories before his first meeting with Haku came to mind. While his face grew depressed due to knowing she was dead, he answered, "Yes… I helped a girl look for herbs to help heal the one she cherished most. I never expected anything in return and just wanted to help her."**

 **After receiving confirmation, Rarity smiled and placed a hoof on his shoulder. When he looked into her eyes, she nodded to him. "You are a generous man, Naruto; I can easily see that. You know what it's like to have nothing and strive to prevent others from experiencing that. You pass my test."**

Kushina winced. As proud as she was at her son having these qualities, the 'know what it's like to have nothing' part bothered her for her inability to be there for Naruto.

 **The Uzumaki nodded in thanks as Fluttershy nervously stepped up. He offered her a reassuring smile, which seemed to help her confidence**

"Naruto does have that affect on people." Hinata assured Fluttershy, while the rest of the Konoha group snickered.

 **as she spoke, "My element, Naruto, is Kindness. How do you treat those you meet?"**

 **"To be honest, most people I meet are not exactly 'kind' to me.**

Fluttershy winced at that.

 **I tend to ignore those people now and treat those who see me as a person with respect."**

At that, the animal-loving pegasus smiled.

 **The yellow pegasus nodded sadly. "It is hard to be kind in a place that has none.**

Minato flinched as Kushina glared at him again.

 **But, as long as you have those who care, you will never lose that kindness." She then gathered up some courage and hugged him like Applejack did, surprising both him and the others.**

"No kidding!" they gawked at the image the projector showed, unable to fully believe Fluttershy could be that forward.

 **"I can tell that you are a pure and kind person, Naruto. You have regrets about things you could've changed, but you were kind enough to give those people you think you failed a respectable send off." His eyes widened at what she was getting at as she let him go. "Those two…Zabuza and Haku…they were your enemy but you tried to help them turn over a new leaf. Kindness to your enemy is the greatest of all, Naruto. You pass my test."**

"...Please tell me she can't read minds?" Naruto asked.

"I'm just good with reading others." Fluttershy assured him.

 **The blonde nodded as he wiped away a stray tear. Pinkie Pie was next as she bounced up to him with a smile. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! It's nice to meet you!"**

"Word of advice: give her decaf." Lee said

Tenten looked at her teammate incredulously "YOU'RE saying that, Lee?! YOU?!"

"What?" Lee asked with a blink.

 **He couldn't help but smile at her and greeted back, "I'm Naruto. Nice to meet you too, Pinkie."**

 **She nodded and sat down in front of him. "Okey Dokey Lokey, my element is Laughter! Got any times where, instead of acting negatively, you smiled and laughed it off?"**

"TOO many times to count...and can I just give this as a word of advice: She must NEVER be allowed anywhere NEAR an energy drink!" Naruto said.

Pinkie looked confused while the other five all paled, their pupils shrinking as their eyes went huge and their mouths dropped. The idea was honestly terrifying!

"Thanks for putting THAT in our heads, Blondie! We'll be sure to enjoy the nightmares!" Rainbow Dash snapped at him.

 **He closed his eyes in thought over her question. One thing came to mind, but he was unsure if it would count. "Well, before I started to just ignore the people who treated me unfairly, I used to prank them to get back at them. I had fun with my pranks and made sure that no one was hurt by them." He then looked to Pinkie with an anxious gaze. "Does that count?"**

Well, knowing Pinkie...the others from Equestria all thought.

The pink mare nodded. "Yep! You could've made those pranks harmful, but you didn't and got a good laugh out of something that most people would be negative about. You pass my test!" He nodded in thanks before she got in his face and asked, "By the way, mind sharing your pranks with me? I always love a good prank!"

 _'Say no! Saynosaynosaynosaynosaynosaynosayno! PLEASE say NO!'_ Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack all thought, panicked.

Seeing their reactions, Chrysalis made a note to get Pinkie Pie completely wired by having her drink an entire silo-full of an energy drink cocktail on April Fools Day...

* * *

Back in Equestria, Discord suddenly froze. "WHOSE TRYING TO STEAL MY JOB?!" he shouted.

There was a line between mischief and evil, he knew that better than anyone. But whoever gave off that malicious glee he'd just felt wasn't just evil...they were a MONSTER!

* * *

 **The others grew worried while Naruto actually grinned. "Sure, I don't mind."**

"...And...we're doomed." Twilight said.

 **The happy pony cheered before she went back to the others and Twilight stepped up. "Okay, my test is actually very simple. My element is Magic, so I want you to release as much energy as you can. Okay?"**

At that, the Konoha side of the group all looked at one another...then burst out laughing so bad they all nearly passed out.

Telling _THAT_ to _**NARUTO** _ of all people?! Ho, that was just a joke!

 **The blonde nodded with a faint smirk before he made a ram seal and flared his chakra. To the others, it was like a tidal wave of energy flowed from him and washed over them. A literal dome of chakra surrounded him before it slowly grew larger in diameter and covered them all. In the center was Naruto releasing the energy with no sign of stress or exhaustion on his face.**

 ** _'Incredible…'_ was the collective thought of the mares while Twilight had Naruto stop releasing his chakra.**

Chrysalis looked at Naruto with sudden interest, as if studying a menu and finding something she was considering to order. Changelings did feed off energy, after all. And if this much output was only a sample, then he could easily feed her whole hive.

 **When the energy died down, the unicorn nodded to the Uzumaki. "I have to say, your energy output is unreal. I don't think I've ever witnessed someone with that level of energy in them. You pass my test, Naruto."**

"With flying colors, if I do say so myself." Naruto smirked.

"Ha ha...pat yourself on the back." Twilight said. She wished there weren't as many interruptions so she could finish.

 **The Uzumaki nodded with a faint smile before he turned to Celestia and Luna. "Well, you certainly have the requirements needed to be our summoner," commented the white alicorn.**

 **Luna nodded. "To think that after nearly forty years we finally have someone worthy enough to be our summoner. You honor us, young Uzumaki."**

"A decade short of a half century...no wonder. That would deal a nasty blow to any summons not having anyone new for that long. Not that you girls ARE summons." Minato observed.

 **Naruto felt a little awkward at hearing that. He didn't really feel like he did anything all that special, but it still felt nice to have people thanking him; even if said people were Summon Creatures.**

 **"Well, I have no qualms with you being our summoner, Naruto. However, you should know that the eight of us here with you are the only ones capable of being summoned at this time," Celestia explained.**

 **"Why's that?" asked the Uzumaki.**

 **"Over the years we were without a summoner, many of the ponies who were volunteer summons resigned themselves from the list. The number grew higher and higher over time until it was just the eight of us left. As such, your summoning options are somewhat limited and-"**

 **"It doesn't matter to me," interrupted the blonde, making the others look to him. "Whatever help and support you can offer me is better than having none at all. Even if it was just one of you that I could summon, I'd still be grateful. So, don't worry about numbers because I'm sure you all are more than enough."**

"Heh... at least our others'll be working for a guy that's aiming for quality over quantity." Rainbow Dash said.

 **The mares were taken aback by his sincerity and couldn't keep the smiles from forming on their faces. "You have our gratitude, Naruto," replied the white alicorn with a small bow that was followed by the others. When they straightened themselves, she continued, "Now, I believe you have some clothes to replace."**

At that, the other members of the Mane Six all saluted while humming a solemn funeral march, making Rarity huff.

 **Rarity was quick to step up and grab Naruto's sleeve with her teeth before she practically dragged him to her store. The others followed the two with amused faces.**

 **[Rarity's Shop]**

 **"Now, just hold still darling and I'll whip you up a dashing outfit. Any preferences?" asked Rarity as Naruto stood in the middle of her shop.**

 **"Something that's both sturdy and allows me to blend in to most crowds," he answered with a shrug.**

"Not too bad given he's a ninja." Shino said.

 **"Color preference?" she asked as she stood next to the fabrics.**

 **"Dark browns with some white thrown in. Also, could you place the Uzu Swirl somewhere on it?"**

Naruto gawked. Ok... What was wrong with the other him?! The Uzu Swirl he liked, but dark browns and whites?! He wouldn't be caught DEAD in something so drab!

 **She smiled and nodded as she measured his arm length, torso, waist, leg length, and neckline. After that, she grabbed some dark brown fabric and set to work. "I have an idea of the outfit and your measurements already, dear. Come back in an hour or so and it'll be finished."**

 **Naruto nodded and left the shop only to run into Applejack. "Howdy there, partner! Think you can help me with something?"**

"Eh, sure. Why not?" Naruto asked.

 **"Sure. What did you need?"**

 **The orange mare led him to her apple farm and pointed to the apple-filled trees. "I reckon you could be a mighty big help in getting those down. I usually just kick the tree and shake them loose, but my leg has been sore for some time.**

"Wait! Hold up!" Rainbow Dash said suddenly, then turned to the country pony. "Your legs get sore?!"

"What? You have seen my orchard. You think it's EASY bucking that many trees?!" Applejack said.

Her friends all nodded.

 **Think you could help?"**

 **The blonde didn't answer and just made some clones that each went to a separate tree. The many blondes used their chakra to walk up the tree and pull the apples off of the branches.**

Applejack hummed thoughtfully at that. Multiplying and sticking to the trees so he could just walk up them? That'd be really useful.

 **Applejack waited below with various baskets for them to toss the apples into. It took some time to collect them all, but they got it done within a half hour.**

"H-H-Ha-Half an..." Applejack sputtered faintly, then turned to Naruto, "Ok...you're hired!"

Everyone chuckled at that before looking back at the projection screen again.

 **"Thank you kindly, Naruto. Don't think I could'a done it without ya."**

 **The blonde wiped some sweat from his brow and replied, "No problem, Applejack. Glad I could help."**

 **"Hey Blondie!" called out Dash as she descended from the sky next to them. "Rarity said that she's almost done and that you could head back to her shop."**

 **"I thought she said it'd take an hour?"**

 **Applejack rolled her eyes. "She must really not like your jumpsuit and worked double time to get your outfit ready."**

 **The blonde looked to his attire and sweatdropped at how beat up and worn out it looked. "Yea…**

"Missing an "h" at the end of that "yeah"." Twilight noted distastefully.

Rainbow dash held out a hand, palm up and expectant.

"Stop smirking!" Rarity shouted as she and the others handed her a few more bits.

"...Not even _I_ could loose betting on Twilight's OCD..." Tsunade said to herself.

 **I think you're right," he said as he made his way back over to Rarity's.**

 **As soon as he stepped inside, he was pulled into a changing room where a neatly placed set of clothing was waiting for him. "Hurry up now, darling! I need to see how you look in that masterpiece I made for you."**

"Indeed! Present it!" Rarity agreed with her other dramatically.

 **Naruto chuckled at her antics and stripped himself out of his jumpsuit before he grabbed the clothes and began putting them on. Unknown to him, the white unicorn had called over the others to see how he would look.**

"Having us all there waiting outside his changing room...seems creepy." Pinkie Pie said.

 **When he stepped out, Rarity had a look of pride on her face as the others complimented the outfit.**

"As well they should!" Rarity said.

 **The Uzumaki was dressed in black boots and some gray-brown pants with a kunai pouch strapped to his right leg. Holding up the pants was a black belt with the Uzu Swirl designed as a belt buckle. On his torso, he wore a white long sleeved shirt underneath a greenish-brown collared vest. Over it all, he wore a dark brown hooded coat that reached the back of his knees and had the hood down behind his back. To finish it off, he wore white gloves on his hands that had the Uzu Swirl on them in black.**

Naruto looked like he was going to hurl.

 **Naruto heard them murmuring amongst themselves and asked, "So, how do I look?"**

 **Celestia smiled to him and nodded. "You look very sophisticated and professional, Naruto.**

Naruto shuttered at that. Sure his other looked good, but that seemed like something from sixty or seventy years ago!

 **You've really outdone yourself, Rarity."**

 **"Thank you, my lady," replied the stylish unicorn. "Now Naruto, those clothes have some mesh armor sewed into the fabric to increase their durability. I'll get to work on making some extras for you, but I must say that you look quite dashing."**

 **"Thanks Rarity," said the blonde as he rubbed his head bashfully. He then turned back to Celestia and queried, "So, what happens now?"**

"That needs to be address, or the story can't continue." Anko observed.

 **"Now, we send you back to where you found the scroll. Be sure to keep it safe and remember where you put it. We don't want to risk waiting another forty years before a summoner calls upon us again." At his nod, she continued, "Now, over the years we each have gained some experience in what you shinobi refer to as Kekkei Genkai.**

"Eh?!" Twilight said, interested in the term.

 **We won't go into details now,**

"Oh...come on!" Twilight said, then turned to the ninjas, "EXPLAIN! NOW!" she ordered.

"Later." Kurenai said.

 **but you will see for yourself soon. For now, just continue your ninja career and don't hesitate to summon us; whether to have us assist you or to just talk."**

 **The blonde nodded again before he bowed respectfully to them all. "You all have my gratitude. What you have done for me these past few hours is more than anyone has ever done.**

Kushina looked ready to explode at that.

 **I promise not to tarnish the name of both my clan and your people."**

 **The others smiled at his promise while Pinkie went up and hugged him. "Be sure to have some fun, Naruto! You better not become a stick in the mud."**

"God no! That's _SASUKE'S_ job!" Naruto laughed in agreement.

Pinkie looked at Naruto "Don't know who Sasuke is, bit I already don't like him!"

 **He chuckled at her wording and replied, "I promise, Pinkie, so long as you and the others promise to be there for me when I need you."**

"Fair enough!" Pinkie said.

 **She smiled and declared, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"**

"Cupcake?!" Choji drooled.

"What's wrong with flying?" Rainbow Dash said with narrowed eyes.

 **The other mares chuckled at the pink pony's promise poem before the two alicorns sent the blonde back. Luna turned to her sister and commented, "He'll help us and his clan return to their former glory; I know it."**

Naruto and Kushina smiled at that, knowing the Uzumaki clan was scattered. The idea of them getting all back together sounded good to them.

 **The white alicorn nodded and added, "Not to mention we'll be with him every step of the way. At long last our bond with the Uzumaki Clan will be reformed."**

"And that's the end of chapter one." Twilight said, closing the book.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'll read next." Ino said, taking the book. This was even better than a girl's night out gossip session! No way was she missing out on this!

Naruto was tempted to tackle her and burn the book right there, but he'd never get away with it since there were so many people there. He fumed as the projector started up again.

 **Chapter 2: Examination Part 1**

 **Within the Uzumaki Shrine, a plume of smoke erupted and revealed a newly dressed Naruto. He coughed slightly as some dust mixed with the smoke and entered his lungs.**

 **"Definitely not the best way to travel," he muttered**

"Why not? It's quite fast, and fast travel means more can get done!" Lee said.

Rainbow Dash looked as Lee a moment, then turned to his teammate, "Does he have an "off" button, or at least a volume-control knob?" the flyer asked.

Tenten moaned longingly at the thought, "I wish!" She could NOT handle being around Guy-sensei and Lee all the time alone! It was why she hung around Neji so much before he died...she just needed someone sane around her after exposure to the freaks!

 **between coughs as he made his way back to the Kouma Contract.**

Chrysalis chuckled at the scowls the princesses and Mane Six had as being reduced to summons in the reality of the book. She really wished she could tape this!

 **He removed the scroll from its pedestal and walked back into the main room of the shrine before he started to search for a sealing scroll.**

"Well at least HE'S taking steps to avoid misplacing that scroll." Rarity said.

 **It took about three minutes before he found one and unsealed the contents of it.**

 **From the scroll came a book and a hiate with the Uzu Swirl on the head plate. He pocketed the hiate before he sealed away the Contract into the sealing scroll. Once he pocketed that as well, he picked up the book and looked at the cover.**

 **" _The Legend of the Rikudo Sennin_ ," he read **

The jaws of all the shinobi all dropped.

 **before he pocketed the book to read later. He gazed out the window and saw that it was barely around midday and decided to go visit the Ichiraku Stand.**

"...I swear, why don't you just move in there, you go to that place so much." Sakura said, annoyed.

Naruto didn't respond to that, but personally felt that wasn't a bad idea.

 **His time in the Summon Realm left him quite hungry.**

 **[Konoha Streets]**

 **With his hood shadowing his face, the blonde Uzumaki made his way through the bustling people going about their everyday business. A sigh escaped his lips as he was bumped into by various villagers.**

 ** _'The streets aren't usually this crowded,'_ he mused with a slight frown. _'Something big must be going on.'_**

"Well if its after the Wave mission..." Sakura said.

 **He finally made it to his favorite ramen stand and stepped inside before he could be bumped into once more. He noticed that Hatake Kakashi, his sensei,**

"Means teacher." Shino supplied.

 **was there and appeared to be waiting for someone; most likely him. Curious as to what the lazy**

Twilight looked ready to faint at the idea of a lazy teacher.

 **Jonin could want with him, he stepped up to the man while removing his hood.**

 **"Sensei, what are you doing here?"**

"Kakashi-sensei waiting for someone? Either getting to know theses guys took longer than I thought, or the world's coming to an end!" Naruto snickered, causing everyone else but said Jonin to laugh.

 **he asked in a calm tone, betraying the mask of idiocy most people were so accustomed to.**

 **The silver haired man turned his uncovered eye to his blonde student and gave a curious glance to his attire. "Trying out a new look, Naruto?"**

 **The Uzumaki took a brief look to his new wardrobe and rubbed his head with a straight face. With a shrug, he answered, "I figured it was time for a change. Someone took the time to make this for me and I think it's a lot better than my old jumpsuit."**

"Of course it is!" Rarity nodded firmly.

 **The Jonin nodded before he gestured to the stools. "Why don't we grab a bite to eat while I tell you what's come up? I'll pay for your first two bowls." The blonde nodded in thanks and the two shinobi ordered their food before Kakashi stated, "I decided to enter you and your teammates in the Chunin Exams. I already told them about it and gave them the forms needed to enter. Sasuke seemed eager – not a surprise there – and Sakura looks unsure, but I don't think she'll back out."**

"what's so bad about exams? I love 'em." Twilight said.

"You'll see. Book'll most likely explain what kind of exams they are." Naruto said.

 **"I assume that the three of us as a whole are needed in order to take the test?" questioned the whiskered Genin as Ayame brought them their first bowls of ramen.**

"Yep." the Konoha ninjas all drawled.

 **The Jonin was slightly taken aback at both Naruto's calm demeanor and his observant question.**

"That would freak out anyone who knew you as an idiot." Sakura said, only to freeze at the killer intent Minato and Kushina sent at her.

 **"That's correct. If even one of you does not want to take them, then the other two can't take them either. It's meant to be taken as a team."**

"Well, that's hardly fair. If one doesn't want it, none of them can do it." Rarity said.

 **The blonde finished his first bowl and nodded to his teacher. "I think we'll be taking it, sensei. As you said: Sasuke is eager, Sakura will most likely agree, and you should know my answer." The female ramen chef brought him his second bowl with a smile that he returned before he turned to face the one-eyed Jonin. "The question I have for you sensei is if you think we are _all_ ready? **

"Meaning...?" Kakashi asked.

 **Sasuke is ready due to having been trained at a young age, and I'm confident in my own abilities; but what of Sakura?"**

Sakura slammed her fists down on the table and grit her teeth, trying to keep from doing something that would result in Kushina tearing her head off.

 **"What do you mean?"**

 **Naruto frowned and elaborated. "She shows no interest in training, knows nothing more than the Academy Jutsu and tree walking, and lacks any sort of drive save for trying to get Sasuke to notice her.**

Sakura made to stand up, but froze when Kushina cracked her knuckles.

 **How do any of these reasons make you believe she's ready?"**

"Coffin nail...meet hammer!" Tenten sneered, she HATED Fangirls that posed as Kunoichi! Made a mockery of everything she sought to prove!

 **Kakashi gave a slight frown at both the harsh reasoning and the truth in them. "You should have a bit more faith in your team, Naruto."**

"Give him a reason." Chrysalis smirked.

 **"Why? Since when have they ever shown faith in me or ever valued my opinion. Admit it sensei, they don't like me and would rather leave me to the wolves than risk their lives for me."**

The transformed Equestrian Girls all gasped, horrified. Rainbow Dash, who was the most loyal of the group, had to be held back to keep from attacking Sakura outright, furious.

 **"What about when Sasuke stopped those senbon from hitting you back in Nami?"**

"Ok...so this Sasuke guy isn't so bad, then." Fluttershy said.

Naruto snorted, "And church hymns that praise God are sung in Hell!"

Fluttershy winced.

 **The blonde scoffed and retorted, "I'm willing to bet my chances of becoming Hokage that he did that to put himself in a position to acquire his Sharingan. He got them on the mission, right sensei? He probably 'risked his life for me' just so that he could get them."**

Applejack pulled her hat over her head, muttering words that ponies weren't even supposed to know, much less use, to describe Naruto's so-called "teammates".

 **Try as he might, the Jonin couldn't find any argument against his student's reasoning. His uncovered eye looked into Naruto's blue orbs and saw nothing more than distrust and a small level of anger.**

"Well he does have the right." Luna said with a wince.

 **"Look Naruto, I know that you have more than enough reasons to doubt anyone ever helping you.**

"No kidding on that one, I had to learn to be utterly self-reliant in everything since day one! How or why could I realistically learn to genuinely trust anybody to have my back?!" Naruto growled.

Kakashi suddenly felt glad he wore a mask as he cringed, recalling the first bell test he'd put Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura through, wincing at how he'd reprimanded Naruto for trying to do everything himself, even threatening to drop him from the shinobi program entirely for it. Now that it was pointed out like that, how on earth did he honestly expect a boy who had been ostracized by his own village all his life for simply being alive to just grasp the concept of teamwork at the drop of a hat like that? Naruto never had anyone really looking out for him for most of his life, especially not his classmates. It made no sense for Kakashi to reasonably expect Naruto to rely on people who had never been there for him to help him when he needed it.

 **But, can't you at least try to give them a chance? You'll need to rely on each other for these exams."**

"Oh, that'll work really well." Rainbow Dash muttered sarcastically.

 **Turning back to his bowl, the Genin replied, "I won't promise you that I'll put my faith in them, but I'll tolerate taking this stupid test with them."**

 **"That's all I ask of you, Naruto,"**

"All he CAN ask, more like it!" the Changeling queen cackled.

 **stated the Jonin as he placed enough money on the counter for the four bowls of ramen they both consumed as a whole. He then placed the sign up form on the counter and left the stand.**

 **Ayame, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, asked her surrogate little brother**

"Surrogant family?!...THANK GOD!" Minato, Kushina and the pony girls all sighed.

 **, "Do you think your team will pass, Naruto?"**

"Nope." Pinkie said, surprising everyone. Since when did she sound negative!? Sasuke and Sakura had to be even worse than they thought!

 **He sighed with a slight sag of his shoulders and answered, "It's hard to say. If my guess for what will happen is right, then Sasuke will declare himself as team leader while Sakura will agree to anything he decides. Since I need them to take these exams, I'll just have to deal with it."**

"Ahhh...the bond between a jerk and his lapdog!" Chrysalis sigh dramatically.

Sakura grit her teeth. A lapdog?! She was not Sasuke's lapdog!

Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because Anko snickered, "Just keep telling yourself that, Haruno...just keep telling yourself that!"

 **The ramen chef placed a comforting hand on top of his and gently squeezed it. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Tou-san and I believe in you, Naruto."**

Naruto, his parents, and the Equestrians all smiled at that.

 **The blonde looked to her with a small smile and nodded. "Thanks, Ayame-nee." He then stood up and made his way out of the stand. "Tell Pops that I said 'Hi' for me!" he called out as he left.**

 **He carefully pulled the hood of his coat over his head**

"What was the point of doing that?" Choji asked.

Naruto shrugged, "No idea. Ask my other."

 **as he weaved through the crowded streets and made his way to the Hokage Tower. He wanted to talk with the Sandaime and finally ask him a much desired question.**

"Bet its about us." Kushina said.

 **He made it to the receptionist after battling through the crowds for nearly five minutes and she let him in with a small smile. While not overly supportive of him, she was civil with the Uzumaki and treated him like any other person.**

"Appreciate that." Naruto said.

 **Naruto was then let inside the office and entered to the sight of the aged Kage seated behind his desk with stacks of paperwork seated on top. "Naruto, what can I do for you?" asked the man with a smile.**

"Seems nice." Celestia said, studying the image of the Sandaime the projector displayed.

 **The blonde took a seat on the chair in front of the desk and looked to the Hokage with a straight face. "I have a question for you, Old Man."**

 **"Of course. What is it you want to ask me?"**

 **"What is my relationship to Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina?"**

"You'd BETTER tell him, old man! Talk!" Kushina ordered, unable to contain herself.

Minato nodded, eyes steely. Their son had a right to know about them, dammit!

 **The old man raised a brow at the unexpected question and took his pipe out of his top desk drawer. "What brought this on, Naruto?" he asked as he lit his pipe and began to smoke from it.**

"...I know its his office, but should he really be smoking in his workplace?" Rarity asked.

 **"About two years ago, I came across this journal that told me about Mito-sama and Kushina-san. I was curious as to who they were and tried to find some information on them. Unfortunately, I was only able to get info on Mito-sama and couldn't find anything on Kushina-san. What I read about Mito-sama was basically what they told us in the Academy; that she was the Shodaime's wife and an Uzumaki."**

"Ok, hold it! If even the basics in the academy covered her maiden surname, how could none of you figure out who HE was?" Twilight asked, pointing at Naruto.

The others on the Konoha side all took a sudden interest in the ceiling.

 **"So, you wish to know about Kushina then?"**

"Damn right he should know about his own mother, information should't have been kept from him in the first place!" Tenten muttered. Her words earning the weapon mistress a series of thumbs-up and supportive smiles and nods from Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Naruto, Minato, and Kushina.

 **"Not just that. I want to know what my connection is to them, Jiji. They're Uzumaki, and my last name is Uzumaki. I also found out that there was a clan of Uzumaki." His blue eyes met the brown eyes of the village leader and he asked, "Am I from their clan, Jiji, or is me sharing their surname just a coincidence?"**

 **"** It isn't." Minato said.

"Sarutobi...you had better tell him everything!" Kushina ordered hotly.

"...Er...they're...really getting into this right now..." Twilight said nervously, scooting her chair back to put distance between herself and Naruto's parents.

"That's perfectly understandable, my dear student," the Sun Princess said calmly, "they are his parents, after all. By sheer right of that fact, he should have grown up knowing them. They can't help but get worked up because they want their son's alternate to know them and that they care about him."

 **The Kage sighed tiredly due to the depth the answer had concerning the Genin before him. He set his pipe down and leaned his chin on top of his interlaced hands above his desk. "What you must understand before I answer you Naruto is that this information is incredibly classified. I need your word that you won't speak of this unless I give you explicit permission. Do you understand?"**

"Of course I do!" Naruto snapped.

"Yep...he's their son, all right." Applejack said with a grin at seeing Naruto get as worked up as his mother and father at the words in the book as well as the projected image they were all watching.

 **Nodding, the Genin replied, "Yes I understand and I give you my word, Jiji."**

"Tell him already!" Pinkie Pie said.

 **"Very well then… You asked what your connection to them is. The answer is that you share their Clan Name because you are all of that clan. You're an Uzumaki, plain and simple. Now, Mito-sama was indeed the wife of Hashirama-dono, but she was also a holder of the Kyuubi much like you are."**

 **Naruto made a feigned expression of shock at the statement. He already knew that, but he just wanted to hear the man he saw as a grandfather tell him. "What of Kushina-san?"**

"Should be calling me mother, not my first name...!" Kushina muttered, Damn that masked Uchiha!

 **The elderly Hokage chuckled at him and commented, "You have no idea how strange it is to hear you refer to your mother by her name."**

"Wow...could that old-timer have dropped that one any more casually?" Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head. "Guy needs some tact with something that important."

Everyone nodded at her words.

 **Now, the feigned shock became genuine on the blonde's face. "W-What?"**

 **The old man nodded with a sigh. "Yes, she is in actuality your mother. She died during the night the Kyuubi attacked… That's why she isn't here now." He gave the blonde a regretful look and said, "I'm so sorry for not telling you this sooner, but I wasn't sure if you were ready to know at the time."**

"Ready?! He had the right to know from the beginning! It wasn't your place to decide if he was ready!" Kiba snarled, slamming had hands on the table, Akamaru barking in agreement. As an Inuzuka, he found the idea of having someone else decide something like that about if you had the right to know your own family revolting.

 **The blonde's mind was reeling at the news. His mother was the second holder of the fox and died the night he was born. _'She must have died when the fox somehow broke free._**

Kushina bit back a sob. It wasn't far from the truth, but she still hated being absent from her son's life. She tensed when someone took her hand and gently squeezed it. Looking down, she saw her baby smiling softly at her, reassuring and supportive. She couldn't help herself at that, even if she wanted to. She wrapped him in a hug.

 ** _I want to ask Jiji about it, but then he'd grow suspicious as to how I knew…kaa-chan was the previous Jinchuriki,'_ he thought to himself before another thought came to him. "What about my father? What happened to him?"**

Minato perked up at that, eager.

 **"He perished that night as well as he helped the village keep the fox at bay. I'm sorry, Naruto…"**

The Yellow Flash grit his teeth. Damn old man was keeping his son in the dark about him! When they got out of here, he was tracking down the spirit of the Sandaime and clobbering him!

 **"I see…" he murmured quietly before he looked to the Sandaime anxiously. "Did…Did they love me, Jiji?"**

"...For the record, and I speak for all of us, I'm sure, when I say I get it why you're asking that, but...WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?!" Twilight said, shouting at the end.

Naruto blushed at that. "Never knew mom and dad, so sue me but it had to be asked! Don't you think I would've never needed to ask that question at all because I knew the answer already!?"

The changed ponies all nodded at his response, understanding his logic completely

Ino chuckled, it didn't take being a member of her family to see how these Equestrian Girls's minds all worked. Good for Naruto and his other that they both knew them now, then she got everyone's attention again when she resumed reading.

 **"Of course they loved you, Naruto.**

"Damn right, and that can't be stressed enough!" Minato said, Kushina nodding firmly.

 **When Kushina was pregnant with you, she was happier than I had ever seen her before.**

Beaming, Kushina nodded.

 **Your father practically shouted from the Hokage Mountain that his wife was pregnant and did so again when they found out that you were a boy."**

Minato ruffled his son's hair as he smiled at that. He really had been that excited.

 **The blonde chuckled at that as he wiped away a stray tear. "Thanks for telling me, Jiji."**

The princesses and Mane Six all smiled at that. At least Naruto could spend time with his parents in this pocket dimension they were all in right now.

 **"It was now trouble**

"Should be "no" rather than "now". Seriously, wasn't this story proof-read?" Twilight said, shaking her head at the errors.

"Aww, lay off, you OCD egghead!" Rainbow Dash huffed, even as she took bits from her friends. Really...don't kill the mood! It was a sweet moment right now!

 **, my boy. Now, perhaps you can answer a few questions for me." At the teen's nod, he asked, "Where exactly did you find that journal and who gave you those clothes you're wearing?"**

"Ah yes...the ever-infamous 'long story' line..." Shino said.

 **Now it was the blonde's turn to sigh as he rested his elbows on his knees and waved his hand at the old man. "You might as well get comfortable, Jiji. It's kind of a long story."**

"Knew it." the bug-user said as everyone chuckled.

 **[Timeskip: 2 Hours]**

 **"And then I got some new clothes and was sent back to the shrine. After that, I took the scroll, an Uzu hiate, and a book on some guy called the 'Rikudo Sennin' before I headed back to the village," finished the Uzumaki as he was now standing from his chair.**

"Stiff muscles?" Choji asked.

Naruto shrugged.

 **The Sandaime smoked from his pipe he had resumed using after the first hour and thought over what had been said. "Only you, my boy, would be fortunate enough to stumble across your clan's old shrine and find, not just Mito-sama's journal, but a Summoning Contract." The blonde rubbed his head sheepishly at that, making the old man chuckle. "So, you have the support of these 'Ponies' and passed their test to be their summoner. You also received some new clothes from them."**

"Some very nice new clothes, if I do say so myself!" Rarity said proudly, making her friends roll their eyes.

"You know...I wouldn't mind checking out your work and maybe even modeling a few outfits." Ino said, looking up from the book.

The purple-haired former unicorn beamed at Ino for that, it was obvious to her that Ino delighted in style, elegance, comfort, and beauty as far as her wardrobe went. Just Rarity's own type! "Certainly!" she agreed.

 **"Yea…**

"Still missing an h at the end." Twilight said.

Everyone else rolled their eyes. OCD or not, was she going to do this EVERY TIME there was a small, accidental error with the spelling or grammar?!

"Someone stop her...we're running out of bits!" Applejack moaned, even as she payed her multi-color haired friend.

 **They were all really nice and supportive during my test. Two of them even hugged me when I was beginning to feel down."**

Naruto smiled at the ponies-turned-humans, and his parents, feeling touched, did likewise, too grateful for words.

 **The Kage smiled at that. "Well, I'm glad that you found something to associate you with your old clan more. If you wish, you could also wear their hiate to show your connection to them. It's your decision."**

Naruto bit his lip. His Konoha hiate was a badge of pride for him, but one that showed his connection to his family...was there a way he couldn't win and loose simultaneously with that?

 **The Genin nodded and the old man continued, "Now, you know of your connection to the two Uzumaki you read about and know that one of them was your mother. Remember that this information is classified and cannot be repeated to anyone without my permission. However, in the event that I pass on from this world, then the information is yours to handle however you wish. Understand?"**

Naruto and the other Konoha shinobi all winced at that.

 **"Yea,**

"Again with the missing h?!" Twilight shouted, offended and aghast.

"...Ino, think you could do the whole Yamanaka mind-walker bit and rewire her brain so her OCD doesn't have her so tightly wound? We'll NEVER finish if she keeps this up!" Shikamaru said to his female teammate in a loud whisper under his breath.

"Yes, please do...none of us want to end up in debt with Rainbow dash." Fluttershy said.

Ino nodded, "I'll try, no idea how successful it'll be with how obsessive-compulsive with things she is, but I'll try." she muttered back, able to see Shikamaru's point about never finishing with Twilight's constant interruptions. And it was only the second chapter!

 **I understand Jiji," replied the blonde with a bow as he made to leave the office. Before he reached the door, he turned back and said, "And as a thanks for helping me, I'll tell you how to deal with your paperwork."**

Tsunade leaned in, a starved look in her eyes. Dammit she should've ordered Naruto to tell her this a long time ago!

 **He nearly busted up laughing at the near childish look of eager of the old man's face. "Try using Kage Bunshin to get it done faster, Jiji," he suggested as he left.**

Tsunade gasped, going pale. Kage...Bushin...? Was it really that simple, THAT obvious?! She sighed and her eyes rolled back in her head as she fainted from shock.

 **For the next ten minutes after Naruto left, the receptionist heard a continuous banging from the Hokage's Office followed by consecutive shouts of, "Stupid!"**

Rainbow Dash burst out laughing, then once she got control of herself again, she wiped a tear from her eye and grinned at Naruto. "Ok, Blondie...You and me...we'll get along juu~ust fine!" she said.

 **[Academy (The Next Day)]**

 **Naruto was leaning against the tree in front of the Academy as he waited for his teammates**

"He really shouldn't call them that, you know." Luna said to her older sister.

Sakura scowled. She was being judged by a bunch of hay-breathed glue ingredients as a bad person all because some other version of Naruto, the happy-go-lucky moron, had issues! What was worse was that if she vented on Naruto for causing her to look bad, his dead parents would skin her alive!

 **to show up. It was the day of the Chunin Exams and the blonde still couldn't keep the look of annoyance off of his face as he thought of how his sensei gave him, and possibly the other two, the sign up forms the _day before_ the exams.**

"Should have told them sooner. More time to prepare and make up their minds." Celestia abolished.

Kakashi chuckled sheepishly. He honestly hadn't seen anything wrong with what he'd done at the time.

 ** _'I wonder if Pinkie would mind helping me prank him for that?'_ he internally mused**

"Would, and gladly at that!" Pinkie announced, making Kakashi gulp.

 **before he noticed his Uchiha teammate walking up followed closely by his civilian-raised one.**

"My parents are shinobi." Sakura said quickly.

"Which makes that you're nothing but a third wheel, a damsel in distress, a joker in the deck, and a desk drone all because of how boy-crazy you are MORE pathetic. They would've been able to help prepare you for the way things went out in the field and in the real world if you hadn't blocked them out in favor of fantasizing about Sasuke's butt." Tenten smirked.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Sakura demanded "IT WASN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL!"

"Oh? Then tell me...tell _ALL_ of us here, before you faced those three sound ninja genin in the Forest of Death, how many fights did you actually play an active role in rather than just standing there watching from behind or off to the side? How many times did the ones your team face deem you a worthless dead weight that dragged everyone else down because they left themselves wide open to dangers because they had to focus on protecting you, so they didn't bother with targeting you? And wasn't trying to change that why you became Lady Tsunade's apprentice in the first place?" the weapon mistress asked simply.

Sakura stiffened, eyes huge and face paling. "Wha...that's not...how did you...?! NO! Of course not!"

"...She's completely dead-on with everything she just pointed out, isn't she?" Chrysalis snickered.

Sakura looked down with gloomy features. Tenten was right on all counts and the Haruno knew it, but she just felt so self-conscious about it and how her resolve always caved in when things got intense, she couldn't help but get defensive!

"Then again...you did improve without Sasuke around." the brunette admitted.

"Ah...so it wasn't that you were being cruel, you were being blunt and honest. Remove the distraction, she shows she's capable." Celestia said.

Tenten nodded.

"Sasuke was not, and is not a distraction!" Sakura snapped.

"Ohhhh-kayyyyyy...back to the book." Kiba muttered. This argument would drag on forever because of Sakura's refusal to admit Sasuke was a roadblock to her own development as a kunoichi otherwise, better to let it die now and get back to reading.

 **With a resigned sigh, he pushed himself off of the tree and thought, _'Showtime…'_**

 **"What's with the new clothes, dobe?" asked the Uchiha with a smug look. "Finally decided to actually try to be competent?"**

"...You really had to work with this egotistical jerk?" Rainbow dash asked Naruto.

He nodded "Cowardly and sanctimonious, too."

"Oh, fun.." the cyan flyer muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Rarity fumed at the crack about the outfit she'd made. Who was this guy to talk? Someone in short shorts, a high-collar, and a hairdo that looked like the back end of a chicken or a duck had the sheer gall to ridicule HER work?! HOW DARE HE!

 **The blonde didn't grace him with an answer and just made his way inside.**

"Good, don't give him the satisfaction." both Princess sisters encouraged. This Sasuke person was the complete antithesis of everything the Elements of Harmony and Equestria stood for. If he could get Pinkie pie to be negative and Rarity to feel murderous, they did't want a nice boy like Naruto stained with Sasuke's colors.

 **Sasuke took that as a win while Sakura was annoyed that the blonde ignored her Sasuke-kun.**

"Aheheheh...uh...other me?" Sakura squeaked at the looks she was sent by everyone else as if they were trying to decide who among them deserved to hurt her most first and how they'd each do it.

"Would actually buy that if you weren't that exact same way yourself." Sai commented in his usual drab tone.

 **Once they went inside and climbed up a flight of stairs, they saw many Genin from various villages gathered around a door marked 301.**

"Huh? But if they only went up one flight of stairs...?" Fluttershy asked

"Illusion." Twilight told her friend. Sheesh that was obvious, only a simple bit of logic could overcome that. Then again...an exam was made to see how much you knew. If they couldn't figure out something like that, the ones trying to take the test weren't ready.

 **Naruto rolled his eyes at the attempt to deceive the potential test takers and made to walk past the others before he heard Sasuke open his big mouth. "Take down that genjutsu. We're heading for Room 301, not 201."**

Shining Armor's sister moaned. "How is it he's _that_ much of a stupid show-off ,yet _you're_ seen as the dead-last?" she asked Naruto, finding out that hands and fingers were MUCH better at rubbing temples to ward off headaches than hooves were as she did so.

"I'm better with practical application in the field, but no good at all with paperwork and test scores." Naruto answered.

 **Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead in frustration and tuned out what had happened next in favor of heading up the stairs to the real Room 301.**

"Better that you did. It's obvious those two are unreliable." Applejack muttered.

Celestia looked at Kakashi pointedly. "How exactly did you find your other two students ready for something like this? If Sasuke caused things to be unnecessarily harder just because he wanted to think he was superior and Sakura mindlessly went along with everything because he was the one who wanted it that way...how exactly are the two of them ready for the next step?"

Kakashi gulped and urged Ino to keep reading.

 **He leaned on the wall outside the door for over ten minutes before Kakashi appeared in a Shunshin and his teammates walked up; one looking worse for wear.**

"Oh yeah...Lee smacked Sasuke around." Naruto recalled fondly.

 **"Well, I'm glad that you all made it here," Kakashi praised. "I was worried that I'd have to deny you entry."**

 **Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Jonin in annoyance while he explained to the other two what would have happened if all three of them didn't show.**

"Really should have told them sooner, and when they were all together." Celestia abolished again.

"But then Sakura would've gone through with it as soon as Sasuke told her to, not because of her own choice." Luna pointed out.

The white, transformed alicorn nodded. "True enough."

 **With his explanation finished, he wished them luck and left, allowing them to step through the doors and into the Examination Room.**

 **They were instantly glared at by the various Genin,**

"That's...a lot of hostility." Fluttershy gulped.

 **making Sakura nervous, Sasuke eager, and Naruto just plain bored. He'd seen worse glares from the villages since _their_ glares were full of hatred**

Kushina gave her husband the stink eye while the Equestrians all tried to keep feeling sorry for Naruto, he'd told them he didn't want pity.

 **while the glares the Genin gave were of annoyance.**

 **"Sasuke-kun!" cried a girl as the Uchiha had to suddenly deal with extra weight on his back.**

"Here we go..." Shikamaru

Sakura grit her teeth.

 **A blonde teen dressed in purple was hugging him from behind, making Sakura grow incredibly irritated.**

Seeing the looks from the eight ponies, Ino shrugged, "Old schoolgirl crush, I'm over it." she explained, then shot a discreet sideways glance at Sai which none of the ninjas noticed, but the transformed ponies did since they were looking at her.

They nodded at it.

 **"Ino-pig, get off of Sasuke-kun!" she yelled.**

 **"Make me, Billboard Brow!" retorted the blonde as she blew a raspberry like a five year old.**

Ino groaned "Dammit...can't believe I ever acted like this!" she slammed her head of the table, feeling humiliated and ashamed of how she used to be.

 **Naruto rolled his eyes at them and just pulled out the book on the Rikudo Sennin and began reading.**

Twilight nodded. Books were good for that sort of thing.

 **He was still surprised that the Sandaime didn't take it from him, but he wasn't going to complain.**

"He shouldn't have taken it." the lavender-hued girl said firmly.

 **"Troublesome," muttered a lazy voice as the blonde Uzumaki gave a sideways glance to Ino's teammate,**

"Here we go..." Shikamaru grinned.

 **Nara Shikamaru. Next to the lazy Genin was Akamichi Choji, a heavyset Genin with a heart as big as his appetite.**

Choji laughed.

 **"So, you're here too, Naruto?"**

 **The whiskered Genin just nodded as he went back to reading his book. Shikamaru was one of the only Genin who saw through his idiot façade; Aburame Shino being the other.**

Naruto looked at the two in question. Then shrugged. Shikamaru and Shino were both damn smart, so it shouldn't have been surprising.

 **"Yahoo, we found you!"**

Everyone looked at Kiba, already knowing it was him.

 **yelled an exuberant teen as he and his teammates approached the rookies of the Leaf. This was Inuzuka Kiba, a boisterous Genin from Naruto's graduating class. Flanking him were Hyuuga Hinata, a shy but kindhearted girl,**

"Shy and kindhearted?" Twilight said, then turned to Fluttershy. "I can see why he'd compare the two of you in the last chapter."

Hinata and Fluttershy both blushed.

 **and Shino, a silent but intelligent teen.**

Shino nodded.

 **"Quiet down," admonished a new voice, making Naruto turn his gaze away from his book and see a silver haired Konoha Genin wearing purple clothes and some glasses.**

"Kabuto...lousy spy...!" Naruto fumed.

 **"You're making a scene and basically putting a target on your backs."**

"...isn't that what Sasuke wants to happen anyways?" Sai asked.

 **"Oh yea,**

"We KNOW! The missing h at the end!" Twilight's friends said when she opened her mouth as they paid Rainbow dash...AGAIN!

 **who asked you?" retorted the Inuzuka with a bark of support from his canine partner, Akamaru.**

 **The Genin sighed as he introduced himself. "My name is Yakushi Kabuto, and you can call me your go-to guy for these exams. I've taken them at least seven times and failed each time; so you should have an idea of their difficulty."**

At the mention of how had the test was, Twilight suddenly got excited. A test that hard?! Sounded fun to her!

 **Hinata poked her fingers together nervously. "D-Do you think t-that it was a g-good idea to sign up f-for these if there**

"Should be T-H-I-E-R , not the one like a location."

Everyone groaned, how did you make Twilight Sparkle STOP?!

 **that d-difficult?"**

"Even got your stutter?" Kiba said, then grinned at his Hyuga teammate.

 **Kabuto smirked and pulled out what looked like playing cards. "Tell you what: since you guys are obviously rookies, I'll help you out. These cards have information on any Genin your**

"Should be "you're"." Twilight said.

Luna looked to her sister "This is all on you. You know that, right?" she asked.

 **interested in as well as info as to which villages are taking these exams."**

 **"What villages are having Genin take the exams?" questioned Naruto, making the others turn to him. Most were wondering what was up with the new clothes while Hinata blushed at his more professional look.**

"Ooooooo," said the crowd of readers, followed by a fair amount of snickering.

Hinata looked mortified.

 **Kabuto pulled out a card and had his chakra reveal its contents, showing the rookies the ratio of participating Genin between the villages. "Well, it appears that Suna, Kumo, Kiri, Kusa, Ame, and a new village called Oto have Genin participating with the Konoha Genin. Of course, I doubt Oto will do all that well since their still new and practically unheard of."**

"I hate Oto." Anko mutted, loathing the village that had come to be due to the ambitions of her former mentor. Naruto, Shino, Sai, Chōji, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Tsunade all agreeing.

 **Behind them in the crown of waiting Genin was an Oto Team with slight scowls on their faces for being brushed off so easily. Naruto felt a small tingle on the back of his mind and looked to the crowd with narrowed eyes. He couldn't help but feel as if something bad was going to come from it.**

 **Sasuke then stepped up and had Kabuto give him information on Rock Lee of Konoha and a Suna Genin named Subaku no Gaara. The veteran Genin pulled out two cards and had their contents show themselves.**

 **"Okay, first is Rock Lee of Konoha. He's a student of Maito Gai while his teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Higurashi Tenten. He lacks any noteworthy skills other than a highly extensive level of taijutsu. It's not that surprising actually since his teacher is the best taijutsu using Jonin of the village.**

Lee started ranting about how great Guy was, resulting in Guy starting about how touched he was to have Lee as a student...Before their heads suddenly were surrounded by a green glow and they found themselves with Trismus as well as being rendered mute.

"That was annoying..." Chrysalis muttered.

"THANK YOU!" Tenten cried, bowing deeply to the ruler of the Changelings. Finally! The youth-obsessed freaks were shut up!

 **Next is Subaku no Gaara of Suna. He's a student of a Jonin named Baki while his teammates are Subaku no Temari and Subaku no Kankuro, his older siblings. His skills are unknown, but the one thing that makes him stand out is that he has returned from every mission his team has taken… _unscathed_."**

"Gaara is that good. The Chunin Exams were the first time he'd ever gotten a blow landed on him. Thought the guys from Suna were gonna have heart attacks when that happened." Naruto recalled, amused.

 **Naruto perked up at that and looked to the picture of the Suna Genin before he searched the room for him. When he found him and the two locked eyes, Naruto felt another tug on the back of his mind that reeked of negativity. _'This guy… He's definitely not one to take lightly or piss off,'_**

"Especially with how he was back then..." Shino said with a shutter.

 **he mentally noted before he heard quick movement and saw the Oto Team try to get Kabuto. The blonde saw the veteran Genin dodge with ease before his glasses cracked and he fell to his knees, releasing the contents of his stomach in the process.**

"What the-?! What happened?!" Applejack gasped.

 **_'Damn… Sound based attacks._**

"Oh...!" Twilight said, realizing what had happened.

"Keep reading before she breaks out a power-point explanation." Rainbow dash said, causing Twilight to huff.

 ** _Fitting since their village is named Sound.'_**

 **The next thing that happened was a large plume of smoke appearing at the head of the room near the board. From it came a man dressed in black clothing and many Chunin dressed in tan Konoha uniforms. "Alright you little shits,**

"Such language...!" Celestia gasped.

 **my name is Morino Ibiki and I will be your first examiner!" yelled out the man in black. "You three of Oto, this is your only warning! No fighting amongst the Genin unless we tell you it's permitted!"**

"Wait...they're allowed to fight?! WHAT KIND OF TEST SI THIS?!" Twilight said.

 **The Oto Genin dressed like a mummy gave a look that hardly seemed apologetic. "Sorry about that. We're just dealing with last minute jitters."**

"Bull." Naruto muttered.

 **Ibiki grunted in annoyance before he had the Genin all take a number and take their designated seats. Naruto found himself seated in the center row next to the redhead Suna Genin.**

Everyone paled.

 **_'Swell…'_ he mentally thought sarcastically.**

 **"Alright maggots, the first exam is a written test!" Many students groaned at that while Sasuke and Sakura glared in Naruto's direction.**

"Like I said before:I'm better with practical application in the field, but no good at all with paperwork and test scores." Naruto shrugged.

 **Said blonde mentally sighed at the lack of faith from his teammates.**

"Had none of that to begin with." Chrysalis said.

 **"Now, these are the rules for this exam: each Genin Team passes and fails as a whole, each Genin has ten points at the start, and a Genin will be sent out of the room if caught cheating three times _along with_ their teammates. There are nine questions on the paper while the tenth and final will be brought up afterwards. Each wrong answer will have you lose one of your ten points and the final score will be the accumulative of your score and the scores of your teammates.**

"...A test in how well you can cheat without getting caught...?" Twilight paled, instantly understanding the rules. This was wrong. Just plane sick, twisted and wrong.

 **Any questions?"**

 **One Genin raised a hand only to have a kunai imbed itself on the desk he sat in.**

 **"Well that's too damn bad! No questions; period!**

"Then why ask is there where any?" Pinkie asked.

"Eh...Ibiki's an interrogator, always been like that because of his job. Seeped into his character after a while." Anko supplied.

 **These are the rules and they will be followed as they are! Now, pick up your pencils and begin!"**

 **Almost all of the Genin picked up their pencils immediately. Naruto gave Gaara a sideways glance and saw that the redhead hadn't even budged. He just sat there with his eyes closed as if he was a statue.**

"Why's that?" Rarity asked.

"Who cares? He's not hurting anyone right now, best leave him that way." Applejack said.

 **The blonde shook his head and focused on his paper. Within a span of two minutes, he frowned at the inability to answer _any_ of the questions.**

 ** _'These questions could stump even Jonin. How the hell does he expect us to-?'_ he thought before what Ibiki said smacked him in the face. _'Wait a minute… He said that we would be sent out after being caught_ three _times. That gives us two freebies before we get the boot. Could it really be so simple…?'_**

Twilight shuttered, horrified.

 **Deciding to go with his gut, he glanced around the room and saw someone seated in the row in front of him with a test paper that was over halfway filled. Going out on a limb, he took out a smoke bomb from his ninja pouch and held it in his right fist. He casually had it roll off of his desk and near his target before he made a hidden handseal and had the bomb detonate. Smoke filled the room and he quickly swapped papers with his target before he made a face of feigned confusion.**

"NARUTO! HOW COULD YOU!?" Twilight demanded, she knew the point was to cheat, but that didn't mean she approved of what he'd just done!

"Other. Me." Naruto said, he'd left his test blank and hinged everything on the tenth question.

 **Ibiki, having seen through it all, merely smirked at the blonde's plan and did nothing. It was gutsy, risky, and stupid; but it was also the correct way to go about the test.**

Twilight puffed out her cheeks and swallowed her own vomit at that.

 ** _'Not bad Uzumaki… Not bad at all.'_**

 **Many of the other Genin were soon discovering what the blonde Uzumaki had and began to use their respective skills to get the answers.**

Twilight stuck her fingers in her ears, she couldn't stand having to hear this!

Rainbow Dash, however, had taken out a pad or paper and took notes on the methods to cheat. She never was one for "Egghead Stuff" as she deemed it, and was more of a doer. Now that she thought about it, Blondie here was the same as her! The thought made her grin.

 **Those with dojutsu used them to copy the movements of other test takers or see the answers they needed. Those who were book smart, like Sakura and Shikamaru, had no real issue putting down a few answers. Kiba and Shino used their respective animal companions to help them find the answers. Ino waited for Sakura to finish her test before she used her clan's jutsu to invade her mind and body. She then memorized the answers and returned to her own body before entering Choji's and writing the answers for him. Tenten helped out Lee with the use of wires and mirrors hanging on the ceiling to look at the reflections of test papers.**

 **The Oto Genin used chakra to enhance their hearing and follow the flow of writing from other test takers on sound alone. Kankuro feigned having a need to use the restroom and had a Chunin take him. Ibiki easily saw that the 'Chunin' was in actuality the Suna Genin's puppet, but he kept quiet. Temari patiently waited for her brother to return with the answers written on a small scroll as they planned using gestures. As for Gaara: he used sand to make a third eye that flew through the room and gazed at the answers for Gaara to write down.**

 **When Kankuro returned, Ibiki called out, "Alright, pencils down!"**

"They're finished with the part you hate." Rarity said, pulling Twilight's hands from her ears.

Twilight sighed. That was good.

 **The Genin all complied before he continued, "Okay, the final question has an extra rule." This was met with much complaining and yells before he silenced them all with a burst of killing intent.**

"It's his job to be this way." Anko reminded before the ponies could start complaining.

 **"Shut your damn mouths! I'm in charge here, so I make the rules! Now, the extra rule is in truth a choice: you choose whether or not you take the question or not."**

"HUH?!" the Equestrians all asked at once.

 **"Why wouldn't we take it?" scoffed a Kiri Genin making Ibiki give a cruel smirk.**

 **"Well, if you take it and fail…then you basically give up ever becoming a Chunin for your entire career."**

Chrysalis grinned. She liked how this guy worked!

 **"Say what?!" yelled an Ame kunoichi.**

 **"That's fucked up, you bastard!" cried Kiba with Akamaru barking in agreement.**

Kiba gagged as Twilight conjured a bar of soap and jammed in in his mouth.

 **Other Genin voiced their disapproval with the extra rule before the man shut them up again. "Listen, your village leaders all know of this rule and have agreed to it!**

"Burn!" Chrysalis snickered. She was loving this!

 **So, your choice is now in front of you! Those who do not wish to take the question, leave now and take your teammates with you!"**

 **Within the span of five minutes, over half of the teams taking the test left the room.**

"Wimps!" Rainbow dash booed.

 **They had looks of regret and worry on their faces, making Naruto grow concerned about his chances. He looked to his teammates and saw Sasuke giving a façade of calm that was easily noticeable while Sakura looked incredibly nervous. Her green eyes locked with his blue ones and he slowly shook his head, making her look at him as if he were insane.**

Naruto shook his head.

 **He ignored that look as he faced the front again.**

 **"So, still a few of you left, huh?" asked Ibiki rhetorically. "Well, not much left to do now…except pass you!"**

"SAY WHAT?!" the Equestrians all shouted again.

 **The silence of the test takers reigned over the room, making the examiner and various Chunin smirk. Finally, it was broken by Kiba standing from his seat and pointing at Ibiki accusingly. "What the fuck, man?! You scare the crap out of us and make us choose to take the test only to just pass us?!"**

 **"That's correct, brat," answered the bear of a man. "There was no real tenth question. It was merely to test you psychologically and see if you had the mentality to put aside everything for the sake of the mission. There will be times when you take a mission with incredibly high risks and you're given the choice to go through with it or not. Showing that you're willing to do it proves that you have the mentality of a Chunin who is willing to face the risks," he stated as he removed his bandanna, showing his burned and scarred head, "even if the risks scar you."**

"A psychological test?! " Twilight said, looking like her brain had short circuited.

 **Temari raised her hand and asked, "Then what was the point of the other nine questions?"**

"Do tell." Celestia urged.

 **Ibiki chuckled at her, making her growl in annoyance. "The point was to test you all on your skills in information gathering; a common mission Chunin will be assigned. You see, my testing methods were not wasted in the slightest on you Genin and you all prevailed. So, you all pass the first exam!"**

"Oh, I get it now."Twilight said, looking like she'd just gotten back to normal from her brain being fried.

 **As soon as he finished, a black bundle crashed into the room and burst open. Kunai stabbed the corners of the opened cloth to the walls and allowed the Genin to read the banner it was revealed to be.**

Anko grinned proudly.

 **" _The Second Examiner: The Sexy and Single Mitarashi Anko!_ " read the banner while a woman with purple hair stood in front of it. She had her hair styled in a fan-like ponytail, had brown pupil-less eyes, and a killer body. She wore blue shinobi sandals, an orange skirt that fell just above her knees, a mesh armor shirt, and a tan trench coat over it all.**

Pinkie Pie held up a score card with a 7.5 on it.

"Hey!" Anko demanded, slamming a fist on the table and glaring at the pink spaze, "Only a 7.5?! What the hell's with the low score?!"

"Needed more pazazz—bigger, louder, wilder, more-attention-grabbing and unforgettable. And the window? Considering everything you can do, you could have done WAY more as far as being original." Pinkie Pie stated as if it were obvious.

"Ack! Aww...dammit all!" Anko gripped, smacking a hand to her forehead and furiously tousling her hair with her hands, looking furious with herself.

"...Oh my god, there's two of them!" Rainbow Dash said, going bug-eyed in sheer horror at the scene. Someone that was rigged to think just like Pinki Pie...? This was gonna be a nightmare!

 **"Alright you little brats, this isn't time to celebrate!" exclaimed the woman before she pointed out the window she broke through. "The second exam begins now, so follow me!"**

 **Almost all of the Genin looked to her like she was crazy while some stayed quiet.**

"Bet she gets that alot." Luna whispered to Celestia.

 **Naruto couldn't help but think that Pinkie Pie would enjoy this kind of entrance and made a mental note to tell her about it later.**

"I do like it, but like I said...could do better." Pinkie admitted.

 **Ibiki poked his head out from behind the banner and muttered, "You're early again."**

"Better early than late." Naruto said, smirking at Kakashi along with the other Konoha ninjas in the reading group.

Kakashi winced. That was a low blow.

 **She turned her gaze from the window and glared at him before she looked to the clock. Her glare turned into a sheepish grin when she saw that he was right and she rubbed her head in embarrassment. "Whoops! I thought I was on time!"**

"There is a neat little invention called a watch." Applejack snickered.

"I wear one." Anko informed.

"Let it go guys, if she's like Pinkie Pie, you know how she'd be about keeping track of time." Naruto said.

The others looked at Anko and Pinkie before nodding.

 **Ibiki sighed in slight annoyance while Naruto and a few others chuckled. "At any rate, you have your work cut out for you, Anko. These Genin are tougher than they look."**

 **"Is that so?" asked the woman with a growing grin. "Well, I guarantee that this number will be cut in _half_ by the time they're done with my test! **

"Yet there were still enough to warrant a preliminary round for the third part of the Exam." Sakura muttered.

Anko turned to Sakura "What was that, Pink?" she asked pleasantly with a too-friendly look on her face.

Sakura paled and the other Konoha shinobi edged away from her.

 **Now, hurry up and follow me, you little brats!" she exclaimed as she jumped out of the window with the Genin quickly following her.**

 **They all travelled to Training Ground 44 where many other Chunin, and even two ANBU, were waiting for them. One of the Chunin walked up to Anko and said, "Mitarashi-san, we are ready when you are."**

"What are they gonna do there?" Applejack said, but her attention was mostly fixed on the size of the trees. Man! If she could get the trees in her orchard that big...!

 **"Glad to hear it," she replied before she turned to the Genin. "This is Training Ground 44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death.**

"Forest of WHAT?!" Celestia asked.

 **It is here where your second exam will take place."**

Chrysalis smirked. She was loving these tests and how the reactions freaked the Main Six and their precious princesses out so much!

 **"And what exactly is the second exam?" asked an Ame Genin.**

 **The Tokubetsu Jonin smirked at the question. "You can think of this little test as a beefed up game of Capture the Flag.**

"Oh, that doesn't sound so bad." Fluttershy said.

"Not right now..." Chrysalis purred deviously.

 **Each of your teams will get either an Earth Scroll or a Heaven Scroll to guard. Your objective is to get the scroll you do _not_ have and bring _both_ to the Central Tower in the forest before five days pass, or 120 hours. If any of your teammates if left behind in the forest or dies**

"DIES?!" the ponies cried out while Chrysalis hooted with laughter at how they all looked ready to faint in horror at that.

"It's called the "Forest of Death" for a reason!" the shapeshifter cackled.

 **, you will be disqualified. And if you open any of the scrolls before you bring them both to the tower, you will be disqualified. Understand?"**

 **Many of the Genin nodded and were then given waivers to sign so the Leaf wouldn't be responsible for their deaths.**

"...I am loving this, I really am. Wish I had a camera!" Chrysalis said, looking at her human-formed enemies. She noticed that the shinobi were all shaking their heads, but she guessed it was because of how lovey-dovey Equestria was making the Mane Six and the Sun and Moon sisters so unprepaired for something like this.

 **Once a team had all of their members sign a waiver, then they were given a scroll. Naruto's team was given an Earth Scroll to hold on to; something Sasuke declared he would do. Sakura was quick to agree while Naruto just stayed quiet so that he wouldn't have to deal with them getting mad at him.**

"Horrible teammates." Rarity huffed.

 **While waiting for the other teams to get their scrolls, Naruto moved out of sight and went through a few handseals before he bit his right thumb and slammed his palm on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he muttered quietly so that he wouldn't be heard. From the smoke came Rainbow Dash who looked confused as to why she was there.**

"So I'm up first, eh, Blondie?" the Pegasus-girl said with a grin. "Good choice!"

"HEY!" her friends all shouted.

 **"Hey Naruto, what's up?" asked the pegasus.**

 **"Hey Dash. I need your help for this part of my exam."**

 **"What exam?"**

 **"We're in the middle of the second test of the Chunin Exams and we're being sent into this forest. I need you to go inside and wait for me to enter with my team. When we do, I need you to tail us and watch our backs. Think you can do that?"**

"Ppphh...Easy!" the flight-loving girl said.

 **She smirked and spread her wings out fully. "Not a problem, Blondie! Just leave it to me!" she exclaimed before she entered the forest in a blue blur. Luckily for Naruto and Dash, none of the Chunin noticed which allowed her to wait for Naruto and his team to enter without an issue.**

"As if they could spot me with how fast I am!" Rainbow dash said boastfully.

 **"Alright, now that everyone has their scrolls let me give you all one last piece of advice!" exclaimed Anko, getting the attention of the Genin. "Don't go dying on me because I don't want to waste my time looking for your carcasses! Now, move your asses! Test Two has now begun!"**

"Here we go.." Naruto said, eager to see how things would develop in the books reality compared to his own.

 **The gates to the forest all opened and the Genin raced inside to begin their test. Dash grinned at the thought of getting to fight alongside her summoner and quickly began following him and his team.**

 **Said summoner discreetly looked back and winked at Dash before he refocused on the path ahead. _'Let the games begin.'_**

"Looking forward to it!" Rainbow dash said.

"In that case, you read the next chapter." Ino said, passing her the book.


	3. Chapter 3

As Rainbow dash was about to start reading, the whole reality of the dimension everyone was caught in started to ripple like disturbed water. Then the transformed mares all cried out, holding their heads in sudden pain, before a rip in space appeared and a new pony suddenly fell out of it into the room as everything stabilized and the transformed equestria girls' headaches all suddenly stopped.

The new pony had a light amber coat, a red and brilliant yellow mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a red and yellow shimmering sun. As the others watched, she turned into a human with blue jeans, a turquoise top that matched her eyes, a black leather jacket, and matching black cowgirl boots.

"Sunset Shimmer?!" the Mane Six and Celestia all cried in surprise.

"You guys!" the new girl shouted happily as she jerked up and saw everyone looking at her, then, much to everyone's surprise, especially Princess Celestia, Sunset Shimmer jumped to her feet then ran up and hugged Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, looking relieved to see them all.

"You're all ok! Thank Harmoney!" she said happily, looking about ready to cry, "I was so worried about you all!"

Then she looked around critically, noticing the shinobi as well as Chrysalis, and the room they were all in.

"Banishment spell mixed with the energy of a space-time transportation to create an pocket reality, correct?" she asked, looking around.

Everyone nodded.

"Well...that explains why my transport spell to bring you guys back didn't work...it even worked in reverse, and brought me to where you were rather than the other way around." Sunset hummed, looking thoughtful, then she started drawing in the air something that couldn't be seen, causing everyone to give the new pony/girl curious looks as she continued to do some kind of calculation with the air, before she nodded to herself and then summoned her magic and grunted in effort before a flash of yellow light filled the room, originating from the new pony-turned-human and when it faded, the room the reading group was in had changed slightly. Set about fifty feet apart, each guest-room door was rough-hewn oak bound in iron. In the center of each door, a plate-size iron circle was inscribed with a name and under the names were symbols, cutie marks for those from Equestria and those from Konoha had the symbol of their clans on the doors for them. There was also a new room that was the size of a concert arena. One look at it and everyone knew it was a mess hall.

Sunset nodded in satisfaction before she stumbled as her legs gave out, she would have hit her head on the floor, but Naruto jumped up out of his seat and over to her, catching her, helping her lean on him for support before taking her over to the reading table.

"I think it worked..." Sunset said groggily. "If we're stuck here for who-knows-how-long, we'll need some living commodities, just extra rooms for us all to stay in and a place to eat. Since this artificial space was made by mixed energies, figured those energies could be tweaked a bit to provide those things until we get outta here..." she explained.

"Sunset Shimmer! Do you have ANY idea how risky that was?!" Celestia abolished, looking worried.

Sunset nodded. "Can't do that again...Need a quick rest." she said, leaning more heavily against Naruto, making Hinata grind her teeth together.

"Well, the chair between mom and Dad is free now, you take it. Need it more than I do." Naruto said, half-carrying, half-dragging Sunset Shimmer over to the table.

"I have a better idea...you stay there," Sunset said, then grinned and pushed Naruto into the seat, before she caught herself on the backrest of the chair he was now in and lowered herself to where she sat down...right in Naruto's lap!

Hinata fainted, muttering something about murder and producing glue.

Sunset started shifting around in Naruto's lap, occasionally giving a small bounce.

"Can you please stop squirming...?!" Naruto begged, going redder and redder.

"Just getting comfortable." Sunset said coyly, despite her exhaustion.

Kushina looking like she was trying extremely hard not to crack up, smirked, while Hinata, still unconscious, looked like she was going to have a heart attack.

"Sunset Shimmer, huh?" Kushina asked, grinning. "Well, as Naruto's mother, I hope to see your alternate in the book sometime soon!"

"Huh?" Sunset asked.

Kushina explained about the book and its tying into getting them out of this false dimension. After she finished, Sunset looked a bit more interested.

"That does sound nice, but even if the other version of me doesn't get with your son's other, I'll still have the genuine version, so either way, I win." Sunset said, amused.

 **Chapter 3: Examination Pt 2 (Forest of Death)**

 **Team 7 leaped through the trees of the infamous Forest of Death as soon as the Second Exam started. Unknown to two of its members, a certain pegasus was right behind them keeping an eye on her blonde summoner.**

Rainbow Dash paused in her reading and grinned, looking smug.

 **Rainbow Dash could easily feel the hostility between the members of the team.**

Kakashi winced and Sakura gulped as Kushina cracked her knuckles.

The mares all winced. Poor other Naruto, having to deal with that!

 **Naruto couldn't tolerate them because they belittled him all of the time**

"Jerks." Twilight muttered, giving Sakura an ugly glare.

 **and they couldn't tolerate Naruto for being 'weaker' than they were.**

"And yet you were the babysitter. I pity you, I truly do, Darling." Sunset said, making Naruto gulp.

"WHAT'D YOU CALL HIM?!" Hinata shouted furiously, her anger acting like a shot of adrenalin and waking her up as she glared at the new mare-girl.

Sunset gave a somewhat tired smile at the heiress. "Why's that bug you? If you like him and were actually serious, you would've made a move a long time ago!"

Hinata had to have Tsunade hold her back at that.

 **The pegasus shook her head with pity for her summoner. Clearly he got the short end of the stick in terms of teammates.**

"Short end of a toothpick, more like it." Sunset pointed out, getting Sakura to fume as the Mares all nodded.

 **'And all because he's a Jinchuriki and hated by his fellow villagers… It's not fair,' she mentally fumed.**

"Unfair is the base aspect of a Jinchuriki's life." Naruto muttered, shooting Sunset an annoyed look, he couldn't really do much with her in his lap, he understood she was worn out, but at least give him room to hold his parents' hands for crying out loud!

 **She couldn't understand why he didn't seem to care about the hatred towards him** **.**

"I can't stand that he got so used to it that he can block out that much hate..." Celestia shuttered. It was wrong, plain wrong!

 **If she was in his shoes, she'd have most likely lashed out and gave into her frustration a long time ago. 'But then again, that wouldn't be the best way to go about it,' she thought with a sigh.**

 **Truly, her summoner had a will of iron to have held out for so long.**

"No kidding." Applejack nodded along with Rainbow Dash's other at that.

 **"We need to stop," Naruto called out suddenly.**

 **"Why dobe?" asked Sasuke in annoyance. He didn't like having Naruto try and tell him what to do, especially when the blonde was just a no name loser.**

"...No-name...!" Kushina fumed, where had Sasuke gotten such an EGO?! He was nothing like his mother! And to think she'd actually hoped that Makoto's sons would be friends with Naruto!

 **"I have some business to take care of," was the blonde's answer.**

 **"Business? We're in a forest, you baka! What kind of business could you possibly need to 'take care of'?"**

"Please tell me this level of stupidity isn't contagious..." Kiba said. "What do you think!?" the dog-boy snapped.

"Well excuse me! I'm not an expert as mistaking trees for toilets the way you and your family are!" the Haruno snapped back scathingly.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Kiba roared, slamming his hands down on the table, standing up and glaring with a snarl on his face while Akamaru bark angrily, both glaring at the Haruno.

 **The Uzumaki rolled his eyes in annoyance and answered in a tone that would seem like he was speaking to a naïve child. "I need to take a leak, Sakura. What other business could I be talking about?"**

 **Sakura blushed at his answer before she growled at him in anger. "Gross! You don't just say that to a lady, you disgusting pig!"**

"Disgusting...? All he was doing was answering your stupid question!" Rainbow dash snapped, "You have no right to say anything criticizing about him if he was just answering you! Not HIS fault you're so obsessed with mindlessly slobbering over a brooding sleazeball's butt so much you don't have room for anything else in that shriveled-up cherry pit you call a brain!"

Scowling, she started reading again.

 **Dash really didn't like how Sakura was talking the blonde. Even she could tell what he meant and the pinkette was seriously overreacting. 'How does Naruto put up with her?'**

"Would you be surprised if the answer was "No choice"?" Twilight said.

The mares and even Chrysalis all muttered that it wouldn't shock them at all as they glared at the pink-haired girl.

Sakura squirmed like a maggot in her seat. Why was her other making her look so bad?!

 **"Just hurry up, dobe," Sasuke ordered as they dropped to the forest floor and the blonde walked into the foliage. As soon as he was gone, Sasuke leaped back into the trees with Sakura quickly following him.**

 **Dash glared at them from her position and muttered, "Jerks…"**

"Understatement." Anko said.

 **before she followed after her summoner. She didn't have to go far and found him seated near a small pond, watching the small fish swimming in the water. "They just ditched you, Blondie," she informed him.**

 **"I know… I knew they would,**

Sakura gulped at the look on Minato and Kushina's faces.

 **which is why I made up that excuse to leave them,"**

"Heh...good call." Rainbow dash commented to Naruto, pausing in her reading.

 **he replied while patting the ground next to him. Dash knew what he meant and sat down next to him. "So, care to tell me about yourself?"**

"Huh? What's this about?" Twilight asked.

 **"Where did that come from?" asked the pegasus in amusement.**

 **He shrugged and replied, "I just thought that we could get to know one another since you and the others are my new partners.**

"Good idea." Luna said.

 **If you don't want to talk, that's fine too."**

"Glad he's respectful." Celesta commented.

 **"Nah, I don't mind Blondie. So, how did you want to do this?"**

 **"Just tell me your name, likes, dislikes, and dream for the future."**

Rainbow dash rolled her eyes. He already knew her name! Still...other than that, her harmony element, and that she was a winged pony, he didn't know much else, so she could understand that he'd want to fix that.

 **She nodded at that and began. "The name's Rainbow Dash. I like flying,**

"Understatement." Applejack said.

"I'm a pegasus, so sue me! It's my nature!" Rainbow dash glared.

 **fixing the weather in Ponyville,**

"Unless you sleep late." Twilight teased.

Rainbow dash huffed at that.

 **my friends,**

"That one is very true." Fluttershy smiled.

 **and doing stuff that's cool.**

"Sounds like you." Pinkie chirped

 **I dislike boring things,** **jerks,**

"So you hate Sasuke and Sakura." Kiba said, still glaring at the girl.

 **those who abuse their power,**

"Sasuke." Shino drawled.

 **and those who mistreat others.**

Again, Sasuke and Sakura." Shikamaru said.

 **My goal is to meet somepony special and start a family."**

Rainbow dash lowered the book and blushed as her friends all looked at her. "What?!" she demanded. "It's not something that hasn't crossed everybody's mind at one point or another, right?!"

They all nodded and Rainbow got back to the book.

 **"That's a nice dream, Dash. I'm sure you'll meet somebody who means a lot to you," the Uzumaki said sincerely, earning a grateful look from the pegasus.**

"Whoever said Nice Guys Finish Last never met your boy, I can say that in all honesty." Applejack told Minato and Kushina.

Naruto's parents beamed at that.

 **"Thanks Blondie… Your turn now."**

"It'll just be a repeat of what he told us when we went through team intros." Sakura said dismissively, expecting a ramen-obsessed Hokage-wannabe.

"...Do you even know how to just shut up?! Nobody WANTS to hear you speak!" Tenten snapped. Seriously, if Sakura said another word, the weapon-using girl was going to unseal a hook sword and tear out Sakura's tongue with it!

 **"Okay, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like to read,**

Hearing how the other Naruto's answers were different, Sakura looked stunned.

Twilight, hearing Naruto enjoyed books, nodded to him as he tried to see more from by resting his head on Sunset's shoulder to avoid seeing just the back of her head.

 **study fuinjutsu,**

Kushina smirked proudly, he got that from HER side of the family, after all...literally, since he did it from studying Mito-sama's notes on the subject!

 **the rare few people who care about me**

Everyone but Naruto himself winced and tried not to look at him with pity at that, they knew he didn't accept that.

 **, and finally you and the others for helping me.**

The mares, all except Sunset, whose other self hadn't hadn't been introduced yet, all "Awwww"-ed at that and looked at Naruto, feeling warm inside as they smiled gratefully at him.

 **I dislike those who see me as the fox** **,**

Kushina scowled at her husband while Minato looked both ashamed and nervous at the look on his wife's face at that.

 **those who hurt my precious people,**

"Who wouldn't?" Tenten asked, getting nods all around as everyone agreed with that.

 **being unable to stand up for myself,**

Sakura gulped as the others reading all glared at her, daring her to say anything.

 **rapists,**

"So he hates...? GOOD!" all the females shouted with furious approval at that particular part of Naruto's dislike list.

 **and perverts**

 _'Bit of an irony...'_ Minato and Kushina both thought, Oh...when their son's other self met Jiraiya...!

 **. My dream for the future…" He stopped, making Dash look to him in concern. "It was to be Hokage**

 _"WAS?!"_ everyone from Konoha said, shocked.

"Are you SURE you read that right?!" Choji asked.

Rainbow dash nodded "That's what it says. But there's an explanation here." she said.

 **, but I know it won't ever happen.**

"Like Hell I'd give up on my goal..." Naruto muttered, then let out a "gah!" and turned his head as Sunset Shimmer nuzzled her cheek against his.

Hinata, seeing that, looked ready to explode bad enough for there to be a mushroom cloud.

Kushina smiled, she liked how Sunset Shimmer was making it so obviously forward she was enjoying being close to Naruto. He was like Minato sometimes, good with being a ninja, but getting him to tune in on a girl's feelings on his own...hopeless!

 **Now, my dream is just to find a place where people accept me and I can live in peace."**

"Hm. I can't say that's asking too much. But I wonder where it'll be?" Celestia commented.

"Think it'll be Equestria?" Pinkie asked.

At that, everyone looked thoughtful. Could be.

Then looking at the next sentence, Rainbow dash held out her hand in the 'pay up' gesture.

Her friends groaned, knowing why she was doing that.

 **Dash looked to him sadly and was about to speak before they bother**

"Brother?" Twilight asked. Where did that come from?

 **felt the ground rumble**

"OH...! What in the heck?! How could anybody but the word "brother" in place of the word "both"?" Twilight ragged.

"Can you make her STOP already!?" Pinkie Pie begged, paying Rainbow dash YET AGAIN!

"Twilight's OCD-ness...it's a monster the JUST! WON'T! DIE!" Chrysalis cackled, just to rub it in how Rainbow dash was getting rich off a few spelling and grammar errors.

"Why aren't you paying her?" Twilight asked Sunset, scowling.

"Because _I_ wasn't around when that bet was made!" Sunset chirped, grinning, resulting in a chorus of "damn" to be muttered by five of the Mane Six.

 **and heard a loud hiss.**

Naruto paled. He knew what was coming.

 **They looked across the pond and their eyes widened in shock as a giant brown snake slithered from the foliage, easily towering over them.**

"Not hers, but I WISH it was!" Naruto said as everyone gave Anko looks of shock.

At that, Anko and Sakura both paled. If the snake wasn't Anko's, that meant...!

 **"Not good…" muttered Naruto as he pulled out a kunai and quickly wrapped a seal tag on it. "Dash, I need you to help me get to its head!"**

"You're gonna FIGHT that thing?!" Celestia cried in alarm.

"Well...not like running would be a good idea. Turning our backs to a snake that huge!" Naruto pointed out.

The sun princess gulped, easily seeing the point he made.

 **"On it, Naruto!" she replied as she grabbed the back of his coat with her teeth and tossed him onto her back. In a blur of speed, she shot up into the air before she dive bombed toward the giant snake. Naruto had her roll forward until her back was facing the snake's head, and he kicked off with the kunai in his hand glowing a bright blue.**

"Please kill it...please kill it...please don't let this end like it did with me in the real world!" Naruto muttered praying.

 **Unfortunately, the snake had quick reflexes and suddenly lunged its head upward with its jaws wide open. Naruto stared into the snakes open maw and scowled at the obvious outcome. "Shit…" he mumbled as the snake clamped its jaw shut and swallowed him whole.**

Everyone watching the scene from the projector gasped.

"...OH, COME ON! THERE TOO?! I GET EATEN BY THAT DAMN THING EVEN IN ANOTHER REALITY?!" Naruto shouted.

Kushina and Minato paled.

 **"Naruto!" cried out Dash in worry**

"No kidding! He just got eaten alive!" Applejack said, shocked.

 **as she rapidly flew at the snake and kicked its body repeatedly with her hooves. "Let…him…go!" she shouted between kicks.**

"Please! Save him!" Naruto's parents shouted.

"...Mom, Dad...I'm right here." the blond said with a deadpanned expression.

Minato and Kushina both jerked back, blushing with embarrassment.

 **Inside the snake, Naruto hissed at the burning feeling of the digestive fluids**

Everyone winced at that, and Sunest whimpered as gripped Naruto's hands tightly enough to cut off the circulation.

 **and stabbed his kunai into the skin. The seal tag on the knife lit up before a burst of electricity surged through the snake's body, making it convulse in pain.**

"Good one, but not enough!" Twilight said, biting her lip.

 **He then formed a cross seal and yelled out, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Mass Shadow Clones)!"**

"...Here we go! Thank God that worked!" Naruto said.

 **From Dash's point of view, she saw the belly of the convulsing snake slowly expand further and further to the point that it looked like it would pop from the pressure. Unable to take the pain from being over stretched**

"...Should be one word, not a space between the words "over" and "stretched"." Twilight said, relaxing.

"STOP MAKING US PAY HER!" the others shouted at her, but were likewise relieved.

 **, the snake disappeared in a plume of smoke, leaving nearly one hundred Naruto clones to fall to the ground with their clothes covered in fluids.**

Rarity gasped in horrified disgust at that. The out...fit... She snarled and glared at Naruto, fuming like a winded bull.

 **[Ponyville (Rarity's Boutique)]**

 **A certain white-coated unicorn suddenly stiffened and narrowed her eyes. "Somepony has ruined the clothes I have made for them! When I get my hooves on them...!" she left the threat hanging while she shook her right front hoof threateningly.**

 **[With Naruto and Rainvow Dash]**

"Heheh...who put the v in my name?" Rainbow dash said, sounding annoyed.

"Thank Harmony! Since Rainbow dash pointed that out instead of Twilight, we don't have to pay!" the others cried, making Twilight look hurt.

 **As he dispelled his clones and Dash landed next to him, Naruto pulled at his clothes and sighed. "Dash?"**

 **"Yea?"**

As Twilight was going to open her mouth to comment, Fluttershy surprised everyone by speaking up first.

"You know, it could be the word "Yea" as in "yea or nay"." she said thoughtfully.

Everyone stared at her, shocked, and making her embarrassed.

"Yea or nay? Who talks like that?!" Twilight asked.

"I did. So did my sister." Luna pointed out.

Twilight gasped and fainted at that.

"Oh-no...the bet was her acting OCD. Never said anything about refunds." Rainbow dash said as her friends all looked as her, clearly wanting their bits back for all the times Twilight had acted up about a missing h at what she thought was the word 'yeah'.

 **"Rarity's gonna kill me, isn't she?" he deadpanned.**

Everyone looked at Rarity, who gulped and sheepishly whistled tunelessly, sweat starting to run down her brow.

 **The pegasus' answer was a sheepish look as she rubbed her head with one of her front hooves.**

"Yeesh... Everybody's calling you out on that, even our other selves!" Applejack said, looking at the fashion deva.

"Hurt our son, that boutique of yours getting firebombed'll be the least of it." Minato warned, making Rarity gulp.

 **[Ten Minutes Later]**

 **"Okay, I think that's the best I can do," Naruto muttered as he was now standing in the clearing with his clothes soaked from the water used to clean up the digestive fluids.**

Rarity sighed. Good! He was taking care of the outfit as best he could with what was on hand!

 **"Hold still, Blondie; I'll dry you up," Dash stated as she began to fly around him at high speed, forming a small funnel of rainbow colored wind. When the funnel died down, Naruto was dry while his naturally spiky hair grew even wilder.**

"Nice tumbleweed afro!" Kiba snickered

 **He shook his head to fix his hair and said, "Thanks Dash. Now, let's go find my 'teammates'."**

"Do you have to, Darling?" Sunset asked Naruto.

He nodded. "Part of the rules. I gotta." he said. "and why do you keep calling me that?" he asked.

 **"Right," murmured Dash with a small frown, still remembering that they ditched Naruto who could've died by that snake.**

Rainbow dash made a face while Sakura whimpered at what Minato and Kushina's expressions were as they looked at her.

 **The Jinchuriki and pegasus blurred through the trees in search of Sasuke and Sakura, the blonde somehow knowing where to go due to a feeling in the back of his head. He sensed a dark and cruel energy source and couldn't help but think that his teammates were near it.**

"With his luck? No doubt."

 **They finally stopped when they were around thirty feet away and peered through a bushy tree branch. They saw Sasuke and Sakura standing on another tree branch across from a woman with a Kusa headband on her forehead.**

Anko cursed under her breath, if only she'd figured out who it was sooner...!

 **Naruto couldn't stop the bead of sweat that formed and rolled down his cheek as he felt that the source of the cruel energy was from the woman.**

 **"W-Who are you?" Sasuke asked in fear, surprising Naruto greatly. "What do you want with us?"**

"Able to say anything? that would be surprising." Luna shuddered, the twisted feeling coming off the IMAGE from the projector was creepy enough! Having to deal with it in person? That was so much worse!

 **The woman chuckled, sending chills down the backs of the three Genin and one pegasus. "Ah, such good questions from you…Sasuke," commented the woman with a distinct hiss when she said the Uchiha's name. "You look so much like your brother, Itachi."**

"Here we go...that just sets him off." Naruto said, shaking his head.

 **Naruto frowned at that. How did this woman know of the infamous killer of the Uchiha Clan?**

"WHAT?! KILLED HIS OWN...?!" the mares all shouted, horrified, what kind of messed-up excuse of a family did Sasuke COME FROM?!

 **"You know of Itachi?!" asked Sasuke, his fear replaced by rage. "Where is he?! Tell me right now!"**

"Getting that worked up and throwing himself at Orochimaru...bad idea." Anko grimmanced.

 **"Now now, Sasuke… I still need to answer your earlier questions," chastised the woman with a cruel smirk.**

 **"N-Naruto," shivered Dash. "This chick is creepy…"**

"No kidding." Rainbow dash agreed with her other.

 **"Yea…" agreed the blonde as he kept his attention on the conversation.**

Twilight, who had woken up by now, kept her mouth shut, knowing it was an old speech term they were using, much to her near-broke friends' relief.

 **"As for your first question; my name is Orochimaru," said the woman in a much more masculine voice.**

"Ick!" Pinkie said.

 **Naruto froze and started to pale in fear at the name. His mind worked into overdrive as he thought over his options and any kind of strategy for him and his teammates to get out alive.**

"Reputation precedes him, and none of it good." Tsunade muttered.

 **However, one thing came to his mind first.**

"What would...?"

 **"Dash," he began, getting her attention. "I want you to dispel yourself right now."**

 **"What?" she asked in shock. "Why would you have me-?"**

 **"This guy is dangerous, Dash; really dangerous. That snake we dealt with earlier was one of his summon creatures.**

Rarity looked ready to explode! SO IT WAS HIM! HE WAS THE ONE WHO RUINED THE CLOTHES SHE MADE!

"KILL HIM!" she roared, scaring everyone, even through the mares weren't surprised by the outburst.

 **I want you to get out of here right now."**

"And leave you alone with that?! Not a chance!" Rainbow dash shouted.

 **"I'm not leaving you, Naruto," she adamantly refused. "I won't do that to you; I won't be like your so-called teammates."**

 **He smiled sadly at her loyalty, easily seeing that she really was in touch with her Harmonic Element.**

Celestia and Luna both smiled and nodded proudly to Rainbow dash, who blushed.

 **He then surprised her by hugging her, and she slowly returned it unaware of him holding up a half ram seal.**

"Oh, you wouldn't...!" Twilight sputtered, what Naruto's other was doing was obvious.

 **"I'm sorry, Dash," he whispered, making her eyes grow wide.**

 **"Naruto don't-!" she tried to yell, but it was halted by her disappearing in a plume of smoke.**

Rainbow dash dropped the book, looking at Naruto in shock. "No way...how could...?"

"The guy has utterly no morals or vices. If you had to deal with someone like that, would the first thing you did was to make sure the ones who matter to you couldn't get caught in the crosshairs of such a psycho?" Naruto asked, though he did feel guilty over what his other had just done, even if he understood WHY he'd done it.

Rainbow dash opened her mouth, stopped, closed it, then repeated the process a few more times before she crossed her arms with a huff. Dammit...loyalty, it was a matter of loyalty that he sent her other away. She couldn't argue with that! It was her own element!

 **"I hope that, if I live through this, you can forgive me Dash…" muttered Naruto**

"Better live...and while I understand, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna be mad at you." Rainbow dash huffed.

 **as he readied another kunai with a seal tag and made his way closer. He saw that Orochimaru was finishing his explanation as to why he wanted Sasuke – something about needing his eyes –**

"Body-snatcher."

 **and mentally prepped himself to strike. 'Everyone… If I don't make it out alive…I just wanted to say thank you,' he mentally prayed as he envisioned the people close to him. Visions of the Sandaime, the Ichiraku Chefs, and the Ponies filled his mind followed by shadowed silhouettes of two figures meant to represent his parents.**

While that was touching, Naruto's parents both looked bothered by it.

 **'Thank you for seeing me as Uzumaki Naruto and treating me like a normal person.**

"Means a lot..." Naruto said.

 **This might be my last battle,**

"Don't think that way, Darling!" Sunset Shimmer said, squeezing Naruto's hands.

 **so I will go down fighting to protect you all.'**

 **Wiping away the stray tear that threatened to spill, Naruto set his face into a determined frown and leaped out of the tree he was in, gaining the attention of the three below him. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight of him. 'The Kyuubi brat…**

"He's NOT the Kyuubi!" Kushina snarled.

 **Probably got lucky and escaped my snake. He shouldn't be much of a bother,'**

"That's what you think!" Minato said, even if he was worried.

 **thought the disguised Sannin before he saw Naruto throw down a kunai and fly through handseals.**

 **"Kunai Kage Bunshin (Kunai Shadow Clones)!" cried the blonde as the single kunai multiplied into twenty and he held up his hands in a ram seal. "Fuinjutsu: Raihara (Sealing Arts: Lightning Field)!"**

"Say wha..?!" Shikamaru said.

 **The seals on the kunai all lit up and lines of electricity linked between them all, making a literal web of lightning that was quickly descending down toward Orochimaru.**

"HELLO!" Anko and Naruto's parents all said, this was a good start.

 **Said snake man frowned at the technique before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, letting the lightning web cleanly slice through the tree branch he was on, letting the scorched pieces fall to the forest floor.**

"Slippery bastard...!" Anko hissed, narrowing her eyes.

 **He reappeared on another branch away from the damage with an impressed look on his face. 'Not bad… However, I thought he was supposed to be incompetent?'**

"Funny how lies and slander can be good things in moments like this." Sai said thoughtfully, getting everyone to nod.

 **Naruto landed on the tree branch his teammates were on and readied a kunai with a different seal tag on it. "Sasuke, Sakura, I need your help if we want to get out of here alive. Alright?" he asked**

"Like they will." Kurenai said.

 **and was met with silence. He froze in shock before he slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw that they were gone.**

"WHAT?!" Minato and Kushina roared, bolting to their feet, beyond furious.

Sunset looked revolted "Sheesh! And to think _I_ used to be bad, but my old personality has NOTHING on how cruel these two are! He willingly risks his life, and in return, they left him to die!"

Both the sun and moon princesses didn't say anything, but they shook their heads in clear disappointment and shame. Naruto didn't deserve to have to work with those two.

Chrysalis kept quiet, yet her eyes flashed with sheer anger. It was obvious that for Naruto, the people he cared about were his life, and their protection was his purpose. She'd never admit it out loud, but she admired that. To have the ones he was fighting for do that...it was as appalling as if she had abandoned one of her own subjects!

Applejack had to have Pinkie Pie hold her back as she tried to reach Sakura to skin her alive, to those that knew her, it wasn't surprising seeing as Applejack was very family oriented, so she found it appalling!

Rarity wrinkled her nose "WHAT UTTER GARBAGE! HOW COULD YOU?!" she shouted, disgusted,

Pinkie, for her part, didn't say anything, as she was busy holding Applejack back, but her hair deflated like a party balloon as she glared at Sakura.

Twilight was horrified, but she had the hardest job, so she couldn't comment.

Rainbow dash, tossing the book aside, lunged at Sakura, almost getting her hands around the gril's throat. HOW COULD...! HOW DARE...! HE RISKED HIS LIFE FOR YOU AND YOU DO THAT! YOU FILTHY...YOU FOUL...YOU EVIL...! WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO BE CURSED TO KNOW YOU EVEN EXISTED?! LET GO OF ME TWILIGHT! THIS CREATURE NEEDS TO DIE!" the loyalty-attributed pegasus roared, just barely being restrained. All she wanted right now was to kill the Haruno in front of her.

Fluttershy was so horrified at what had happened, she fainted.

Minato formed a Rasengan in either hand while Kushina's spiked chakra chains erupted from all over her body, Tenten unsealed those hookswords she considered using earlier and advanced on Sakura, while Choji enlarged his fists, Shikamaru's shadow lifted off the ground and thrashed like a mass of tentacles, Hinata assumed a Gentle Fist stance as her skin was starting to peel off her hands at the sheer intensity of her chakra, Kiba bared hais fangs and his nails turned into claws, Lee and Guy both looked stunned and assumed their taijutsu stances, Anko had massive cobras emerging from her sleeves, Sai gripped his paintbrush so tightly that it almost snapped in one hand and his tanto in the other, Kurenai and Ino prepared respective jutsu that would shatter Sakura's mind utterly.

But as advanced on the girl in question, glowing green auras covered their bodies and the suddenly couldn't move. Recognizing what it was from when Guy and Lee were rendered mute, the all shouted in outrage.

"CHRYSALIS!"

"I get it. For the record, I! GET! IT! But you kill her, she'd dead...and then what? What can you do to her after that? Death's too quick." the Changeling said steelily.

the mares and Naruto's friends and family all looked at Sakura, then shared a glance with one another and scowled. They got the point, but they didn't like it. That didn't mean Sakura was off the hook though, not by a long shot. They'd come up with tortures and torments while they heard the story.

After they all sat back down and Sunset picked up the book from where it had landed when Rainbow dash threw it aside and then (much to Hinata's fury) resumed her place in Naruto's lap she started reading from where they had been left off. But before she started reading, she turned to Naruto "Could you not read over my shoulder?" she asked.

"Kind of hard to avoid when you're the one sitting in my lap." Naruto pointed out.

"Easily fixed." Sunset pipped up, then with a small bit of energy sent from her, Naruto's eyes drooped and he slumped in the chair he and Sunset Shimmer were sharing.

"Sunset! You shouldn't be using magic right now!" Celestia cried, worried for her former pupil.

"Relax...it was just a small sleeping spell, I've got enough energy for that...besides," she said, giving a glare to Sakura, "don't want him to hear what happens next after this witch and her boyfriend left him to fend for himself."

At that, everyone else glared at Sakura and muttered that they agreed that what Sunset had done was for the best.

 **'T-They left me…AGAIN!' he mentally raged while Orochimaru cruelly laughed at him.**

 **"Isn't that something?" asked the man between laughs. "You risk your life to help them and they leave you to die; like a pack of wolves leaving the weakest link."**

Everyone growled at Sakura, who gulped and tried making herself as small as possible in her chair.

 **Naruto didn't respond, too angry at how foolish he was. 'I can't believe I actually thought they'd stick around to help me… I'm such a dumb ass! Why the hell would they care about me?!'**

"...Should never have been made to work with those two!" Choji said, slamming a fist on the table.

 **"Well, I suppose I should commend you on your impressive display earlier, Naruto."**

 **The blonde broke out of his thoughts as he heard his name. "How do you know me?"**

Minato paled.

"No..." Kushina whispered, horror-struck, "...Not even HE wouldn't...!"

Sunset stopped her reading, looking grimly at Naruto's parents "...Can I just say I am so glad I put him to sleep right now?" she asked, gesturing at Naruto's slumped form.

Minato and Kushina nodded vigorously.

 **The Sannin chuckled as he removed the face of the woman he was impersonating, revealing pure white skin and yellow, snake-like eyes. "I know quite a bit about you, my boy; more than you even know." He chuckled again as the blonde tensed and readied his kunai. "Haven't you ever wondered who your parents were, Naruto?"**

"Why that...! He is...!" Celestia gasped.

Naruto's parents held one another, terrified. They couldn't stand this!

 **"Of course I have," retorted the Uzumaki. "What orphan wouldn't?"**

 **"True… But what if I told you that I know exactly who they are?"**

"...Can we PLEASE skip this part?!" Twilight begged.

 **"I already know who they are!" Naruto yelled back, half lying since he only knew of his mother.**

Luna hug her head, biting her lip.

 **"You're not a very good liar, Naruto," retorted the snake before he looked thoughtful. "Well, that's not entirely true. You seem to only be partially lying to me… So tell me, which parent do you know? If I had to guess, I would assume that it's your mother…Kushina."**

"No more...please no more!" Fluttershy begged.

 **Naruto tensed again and threw his kunai frantically at the snake, but it was easily avoided with a lazy lean of the head.**

 **"I see I hit the nail right on the head. So, you still don't know your father… Sarutobi-sensei must really not have a lot of faith in you if he kept that from you."**

"...Ok, I can see why he sent the other me away to protect me..er..her...whatever...from this twisted sicko..." Rainbow dash grimaced.

 **"Shut up! You don't know anything!" screamed the blonde in anger while his arms began to burn for some reason. 'W-What's this feeling? It feels like something wants to burst out of my arms!'**

"Oh, what else can go wrong now?!" Tenten muttered, feeling worried for the other Naruto.

 **"Oh, but I do know Naruto… I know the truth about who your father is. He's the Leaf's 'Greatest Hero'; the one who turned the tides in the 3rd Great War," he mockingly stated.**

Hinata choked back a sob.

 **Naruto couldn't think of who the snake was referring to since the pain in his arms was intensifying dramatically.**

 **"Your father…was Namikaze Minato; the Yondaime Hokage," declared the snake with a cruel smirk, making Naruto freeze in place.**

"NO!" Minato shouted. Of all the way to...!

 **"N-No… No, he couldn't be… Not him…" muttered the blonde in denial, but his rational side kicked in again and laid out the facts. If the Yondaime was his father, then using his son to hold the Kyuubi made much more sense. Plus, they looked alike in almost every way save for Naruto's whisker markings.**

"You know...that is pretty obvious..." Sai said, though his belly felt hot the same way it did whenever he thought about Sasuke.

 **"Do you see it now, Naruto?" questioned the snake as he pulled out a kunai. "Your village hates you while they worship Minato for making you the scapegoat they despise every waking moment.**

Kushina let out a muffled scream.

 **Sarutobi-sensei knew; how could he not?**

"HE WHAT?! OH, THAT...!" Kiba snarled.

 **Oh, but don't worry… You won't have to deal with the hate anymore," stated the Sannin in a mock caring tone, "because I'll end your suffering right now!"**

"You stay away from him!" Ino shouted.

 **Naruto's arms screamed in agony while his instincts had him swing against the incoming threat. The result was Naruto swinging an open hand at Orochimaru while the man was at least ten feet away. However, it wasn't a wasted swing**

"How couldn't it be?" Twilight asked.

 **since golden chains erupted from his skin**

Kushina, still in shock over what had happened to her son's other, jaw dropped. No way! Those were...! She promptly passed out. It was all too much for her to take.

 **and flew at the snake who narrowly dodged with a shocked expression.**

 **'Chakra Chains?! But that's impossible! Kushina didn't get them until she was a Jonin!' mentally raged the man as he considered his options.**

Everyone's jaws dropped.

 **Naruto fell to his knees as the chains retracted back into his skin, his arms numb from the sudden release of the burning pain he was feeling earlier. As soon as the chains were full reabsorbed into his skin, his arm fell like dead weight while he gasped for air.**

 **Orochimaru narrowed his eyes in thought over the new outcome. Killing the Uzumaki would be an easy feat to do now; child's play since the blonde was wide open. But a part of his intelligent mind told him to let the boy live. It even told him to give the teen the scroll his team needed to pass.**

Anko grimaced, Orochimaru thinking of sparing someone was always as bad, if not worse, than him finishing them off. She was glad the twerp was alive...but...he was a LONG way from being ok!

 **'Maybe this could work to my advantage… My original self has already given Sasuke the Curse Mark and knocked out the Kyuubi brat's teammates. Maybe Sasuke's inevitable jealousy of Naruto will help fuel the Curse Mark… Yes… Yes, I believe this will work out just fine.'**

"Monster!" Sunset spat.

 **He stepped up to the defenseless blonde who didn't even acknowledge his presence. Orochimaru couldn't help but see himself in the Uzumaki; alone, orphaned, yet still able to surprise his opponents and show incredible feats of skill and power.**

Anko squirmed in her seat. This wasn't good at all! Walking away because he thought he'd be useful with her old teacher's plans was bad enough, but for Orochimaru to actually see Naruto as a parallel version of himself?!

 **It was obvious that the teen was much more than he let on; being able to deceive even Kabuto was a testament to that.**

 **He pulled out the Heaven Scroll that Team 7 needed and tossed it in front of the Uzumaki. "Your teammates are about half a mile north of here. Consider that scroll a gift for your…interesting display and bravery. Not many people would choose to stand their ground in my presence.**

"Disgusting, but true." Anko shuttered.

 **I'll be sure to keep a close eye on your future progress, Naruto, so do try and stay alive for me."**

Sunset stopped and looked at Naruto, she felt really glad he was out cold right now. If he heard any of this...

 **With his piece said, the snake dispersed into mud, showing that he was nothing more than a Tsuchi Bunshin (Mud Clone).**

"Very fitting, seeing as he's low as dirt." Rarity scowled.

 **Naruto's hand numbly moved and grasped the scroll before he pocketed it and stood shakily. His mind was still reeling at the facts given to him and the pain his apparent new skill caused him.**

"Poor boy..." Celesta muttered.

 **His body moved on autopilot as he began to head to where Orochimaru said his team was.**

 **When he arrived, he saw the two of them slumped against a tree trunk out cold.**

"Lucky he sent me off or I would've strangled them!" Rainbow dash fumed.

 **He wordlessly made two clones and had them carry his teammates and follow him as he made his way to the Central Tower. It took the rest of the day to get there, and Naruto was finally starting to regain his mental control from the shocking revelations he had received.**

"...Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Twilight asked.

 **He curiously looked to his surroundings and saw that he was inside the tower with a plaque in front of him that had a hidden lesson.**

 **The blonde scoffed at the simplicity of the answer which was focusing on the skills you need improvement on; the body (Earth) or the mind (Heaven). He then opened both scrolls and tossed them to the floor, causing them to erupt into plumes of smoke that revealed Umino Iruka, the Chunin who worked at the Academy as an instructor.**

"That's good. He and Naruto always were close. He won't let Naruto go on like this, he'll help." Shikamaru said.

Minato and Kushina sighed, mentally asking any and all gods that have, do, and ever will exist to bless the scar-faced Chunin.

 **"Naruto, glad to see you made it as early as you did. The first day, too! Not bad at all," he praised, only receiving a nod in thanks from the blonde before his clones presented his unconscious teammates.**

 **"We ran into Orochimaru in the forest and they were knocked out. Be sure to tell the old man, Iruka-sensei. I need to be alone for a bit," informed the Uzumaki as he handed off his teammates to the stunned Chunin and made his way to one of the dorm rooms in the tower.**

"Not a good sign. Naruto NEVER asks to be alone." Hinata said, feeling broken with helplessness at this.

 **Once inside, Naruto sighed and performed the seals needed to summon Dash before she appeared in a plume of smoke. Her eyes were wide in worry when she saw that they weren't in the forest, but they quickly softened when she saw that Naruto was alive.**

"Thank Harmony...now I can find out what's up and help him..." Rainbow dash muttered, no way would she let him deal with everything he had to have been going through right now by himself.

 **Anger soon took over and she used her tail to slap his face; the equivalent of a human woman using her hand. Naruto didn't seem fazed by it and merely let her strike him with a dead look in his eyes.**

Everyone winced at that, Naruto was just out of it. He had every reason to be upset, but this...his spirit seemed broken.

"We're helping him. Don't care what we have to do, we're helping him." Fluttershy said resolutely, making Naruto parents walk over and hug her.

 **Dash didn't seem to notice due to her anger. "Damn it, Naruto! I told you that I wasn't going to leave you; and what do you do?! You send me back and leave me worried sick! Then, you don't even summon me back until you apparently finished your test! What the hell is wrong with you, huh?!"**

"As much as I don't like that you smacked my baby, I understand your concern about him being why you were upset." Kushina said.

 **He didn't respond and merely stood there with the same expression. Her eyes softened as she walked up to him and leaned down to look his downward gaze in the eye.**

 **"Naruto…?" she asked in worry**

"Help him..." Rainbow dash urged her other.

 **before she was suddenly pulled into a hug by a now tearful blonde.**

 **"I'm so sorry, Dash…" he whispered as his tears fell on her coat.**

 **Her anger was immediately extinguished by his sincere and regretful tone and she hugged him back with her wing. "It's okay, Blondie… I forgive you…" she whispered back.**

"Good, now to help him with dealing with everything he learned about his family." Sunset said, feeling a bit better at reading that.

 **Their moment was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. "Naruto? It's Kakashi; I need to talk to you."**

"Spoiled the moment, but as long as you help him..." Applejack told the masked man.

 **Naruto looked to Dash who gave him a smile before her eyes glowed and she was surrounded by a swirl of color. When the swirl died down, she was transformed into a necklace with the pendant designed in the exact likeliness of her Cutie Mark.**

"Wow...wish I could do that...handy trick..." Rainbow dash commented.

 **Naruto quickly put it on and tucked it into his vest**

"Bet your other enjoys being that close to his abs!" Pinkie teased, causing Rainbow dash to go scarlet.

"Wha...I...you...sh-sh-shut up, Pinkie Pie!" the flyer stuttered, making everyone laugh.

 **before he opened his door. "Sensei, what did you want to talk about?"**

"As if that weren't obvious." Twilight said, poor Naruto. He had so much on his mind right now.

 **Kakashi gave his blonde student a worried frown and he asked, "Naruto is it true what Iruka just told me? Did you and the others run into Orochimaru?" The blonde looked down and nodded, making the Jonin sigh. "What happened back there Naruto?"**

"Simplest summery: Nothing good." Sunset said, shaking her head before going back to reading.

 **Naruto suddenly scowled and looked his sensei with betrayal in his eyes.**

"Here it comes..." Kakashi winced under his mask, knowing what was going to happen and honestly didn't blame Naruto's other self for it.

 **"I listened to you, that's what." Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise at the angered tone. "I placed my trust in my teammates and they ditched me in that forest, not once, but twice! Once when I left to relieve myself and the next when I stopped Orochimaru from killing them back there! I placed my faith in them and hoped that they would back me up, but they left me to die! I'm still surprised that Orochimaru let me live back there!"**

"Orochimaru LETTING him live...that's how unreliable those two are...!" Anko said, cracking her knuckles as she rubbed her fists.

 **Kakashi's eyes grew wider with horror at every statement. He knew that their teamwork wasn't exactly 'good', but he never thought that they would just abandon their teammate and leave him to the wolves so to speak. "Naruto, I-"**

 **"Save it!" interrupted the rightfully angered blonde. "I listened to you, even though I knew – I knew – that they would never be there for me, and I was left alone to die while they ran to save themselves! They didn't even care that they needed me to pass the test and just hightailed it out of their**

"T-h-e-r-e, not t-h-e-i-r." Twilight said.

"Not again!" Rarity groaned, paying Rainbow dash AGAIN!

 **like cowards!" The blonde's anger was slowly calling on a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra, making him release killing intent. "I've had it, Kakashi! I will never trust those two again and as soon as I can, I'm removing myself from this team!"**

"For the best that he does." Celestia said, nodding firmly.

 **Kakashi tried to calm down the Uzumaki. "Naruto, don't do anything rash. I'll talk to Hokage-sama and-"**

"And...what? Those two don't deserve his loyalty, why stay?" Tenten asked, scowling in disgust.

 **"No! I'm done, Kakashi so don't try to stop me! I won't blame you for their actions, but I sure as hell will not have you try and save a team that obviously does not function as one!"**

"Kakashi..." Tsunade said warningly.

The man gulped. He saw the point, but why would the actions of his other self have to come out of his hide?!

 **The Jonin sighed dejectedly at his student, knowing that he was absolutely right. "I'm so sorry, Naruto… I never imagined that they'd have done that to you… Can you forgive me?"**

 **"Like I said earlier; I don't blame you, sensei…" Naruto muttered. "There's no need to forgive you for something you didn't do or have any control of.**

"That's good." Kakashi sighed.

 **But, I will never forgive Sasuke or Sakura for what they did."**

"Nor should he." Luna said, making Sakura gulp.

 **"I understand, and thank you for not blaming me…" replied the Jonin. "I still want to make it up for you since I know I could have taught you more than I did. So, if you ever need someone to train you, just come to me. Okay?"**

 **Naruto gave his teacher a grateful smile and bowed. "Thank you, sensei…"**

Everyone smiled at that.

 **Kakashi gave him an eye smile and rubbed his head in a brotherly way. "Don't mention it. Now, you should take the remaining four days to rest and prepare for the next test. You'll need it."**

"No kidding..." Ino muttered, recalling the preliminary rounds.

 **"I will, sensei," replied the blonde as he reentered his room and closed the door.**

 **Dash transformed back into her real form and gave him a reassuring smile. "At least your teacher wants to try and make it up to you."**

 **"Yea… Hey Dash, can you have the others reverse summon me again?"**

 **"What for?"**

"That'll be obvious." Rainbow dash said, rolling her eyes.

 **"Something tells me that I'm gonna need some more tricks up my sleeve for the next test… Plus, I want to know if Celestia or Luna know what these are," he explained as he struggled to summon the chains he created earlier.**

"Think our others know about those chains?" Luna asked her sister, getting a shrug in response.

 **Dash looked at the chains in wonder before she nodded and disappeared in a burst of smoke. Not even five minutes later, Naruto did the same.**

"Wonder what we help teach him?" Twilight said.

 **[Central Tower Indoor Arena (Four Days Later)]**

"I hate timeskips...even if they are necessary." Twilight said, she wanted to see what happened to Naruto after going back to Equestria.

 **Naruto stood next to the remaining Genin as they waited for Anko to finish the Second Test. Teams 7-10 and Kabuto's Team had passed for Konoha, Gaara's Team had passed for Suna, and the Oto Team for their village.**

"Same lineup as what happened with us." Choji noted.

 **The blonde rubbed his arms as he remembered the training Celestia gave him for his Chakra Chains.**

"So we DO know about them!" Luna said, surprised.

 **The alicorn knew exactly what they were and helped him figure out how to summon and utilize them more fluently.**

Kushina chuckled deviously, seeing as she used them herself, she could tell that would be good!

 **Luna helped as well by firing many blasts of Meiton (Dark Element) chakra**

"HUH?!"

"Dark element...?" everyone asked.

Celestia looked at her sister, "All things considered, that sounds appropriate for you."

Luna nodded.

"You shot at my baby?!" Kushina said, glaring at Luna.

 **at him to have him ignore outside distractions and focus.**

"Oh...training blasts. Harmless. Heheh...sorry..." the redhead said.

"For what? he IS your son. Why shouldn't you worry for him?" Luna asked.

 **After Naruto had informed the ponies of what happened in the Forest of Death, they were disappointed with his teammates**

"Understatement." everyone agreed.

 **and Applejack was a few seconds short of having Naruto summon her so that she could mule kick them into next year.**

"Gladly!" Applejack said.

 **Luckily, depending on who you asked, Naruto was able to calm her down**

"...He's too big-hearted for his own good, and I can't believe that bugs me right now." Sunset said.

 **and tell the mares what he planned to do after the test. They were quick to support his decision; Rarity though did so after lecturing him about taking better care of his clothing.**

"That figures," her friends said, all rolling their eyes.

 **Another thing he did during his four days rest was enjoy a Congratulatory Party that was thrown for him by Pinkie; something he thanked her for with a grateful hug since he had never had anyone throw him any kind of celebration before.**

Pinkie looked shocked at that. Never had a party!? Oh...she was fixing THAT later! No doubt!

 **He was able to enjoy himself and have fun for the first time in a long time, and it made the pink mare happy to help him do so.**

"Yep!" Pinkie said happily.

 **Dash had stuck to Naruto like glue after their little episode in the forest. She had grown incredibly fond of the teen and was able to easily call him a friend. She even followed him out of the Summon Realm and disguised herself as her necklace form so that she could stay close to him.**

"Loyalty is one thing, but that's a bit much." Twilight said.

"Unless...Oooooo!" everyone snickered, recalling Pinkie's teasing from earlier.

"SHUT UP!" Rainbow dash said, going red in the face.

 **The blonde was able to place seals on each of the ponies as well during his stay.**

Sunset and Twilight both hummed, interested. This could be interesting.

 **The seals were connected to one he had on the back of his neck, which allowed them to communicate with one another mentally.**

"Telepathy seals...? Ok...now THAT sounds cool!" Sunset and Twilight both said in unison., making them blush.

Everyone else snickered, but they agreed the idea was awesome.

 **However, it couldn't work across realms,**

"Ah...small flaw." Celestia said. Shame about that, but it would be good nevertheless, just a bit more work needed to fix that.

 **but it was still incredibly useful.**

 **He was brought out of his reminiscing by Anko announcing, "Well brats, you have passed the Second Exam! So, we'll immediately move on to the next test…or at least the event that will weed out the weaker links."**

"Yep. Knew it." the Konoha group that had fought in the exams all said, save a still sleeping Naruto.

 **"What are you talking about?" asked Ino with a frown. "Some of us just got here and are barely standing!"**

"A good point." Twilight said.

 **"Not our problem!" retorted the Tokubetsu Jonin.**

"Now that's just rude." Rarity huffed, looking at Anko.

 **"You knew what you were getting into when you signed up for these Exams!**

"That can't be avoided. If they chose this, then it's their responsibility." Tsunade said.

 **Now, we will be having what is known as Preliminary Bouts to cut down the numbers some more. Too many of you have passed, so we need to weed out some more of you." She then looked at the twenty-one Genin with a scrutinizing gaze, looking for anyone that seemed to be at risk due to their injuries.**

"Well...you're not bad, just doing a job. I respect that." Celestia said to Anko with a nod.

 **"However, from here on out you no longer have to worry about how your actions affect your team's future. It's every Genin for his or herself. So, if there are any of you who think they can't continue, speak up and tell us now or else shut up and stay put."**

 **Only one 'Genin' raised his hand; Kabuto.**

"Slimy little weasel!" Sakura snapped.

 **Naruto narrowed his eyes as he felt a negative aura from him. The silver haired teen was allowed to leave, which meant that there were a total of twenty Genin remaining.**

 **"Twenty, huh? That means that we'll be having a total of ten matches and ten maximum Genin for the Finals," Anko murmured to herself as a part of the wall behind her moved aside to show a screen. She spoke louder as she explained, "This device will be what decides your fate! The first two Genin who will have their preliminary match will be…"**

A randomizer lotto between them, huh?" Applejack said, wondering who'd go first.

 **Two rows of names randomly shuffled on the screen with a large "VS." in between them both, the Genin, their Jonin sensei, and the Sandaime who was there to watch the prelims stood and looked intently at the screen as the first two names revealed themselves. The result left many of them in shock.**

 **On the screen, it read, "Uchiha Sasuke vs. Hyuuga Neji."**

"Hope this Neji guy buries the creep!" Twilight said savagely.


	4. Chapter 4

After reading the chapter, Sunset Shimmer closed the book.

"Well...how about some rest. Digest the information? she asked.

"...That would be best." Celestia said, glancing at Minato and Kushina, who nodded and the group got up and headed toward the rooms, Sunset carrying Naruto into his room.

Naruto yawned and forced his eyes open. Sheesh...he felt great! He stood up and stretched then rubbed his eyes to clear the rest of the sleep from them...and his jaw hit the floor.

He was wearing a burnt orange-colored sweat suit as a form of sleepwear (how he got into it, he didn't think he WANTED to know) and was in somewhere that he guessed was one of the rooms Shimmer had created.

The suite was nicer than any place he'd ever lived in, nicer than any place he'd ever visited. It was shaped like a cross, with four sections radiating from the central atrium. Each wing was as large as an airplane hangar. One was the entry hall where we'd come in. The next was a bedroom with a king-size bed. Despite its size, the room was spare and simple: beige covers and fluffy-looking pillows on the bed, beige walls with no artwork or mirrors or other decoration.

Looking at this bedroom, Naruto felt like somebody had reached into his mind and pulled out exactly what he wanted and needed to be comfortable.

The wing to the left was a dressing area/bathroom. The perks included a sauna, a hot tub, a walk-in wardrobe, a walk-in shower and a separate area that was walled off to hide the toilet.

The suite's fourth wing was a full living room. At one end of the living room, a big leather couch faced a plasma-screen TV. On the other side, two recliners sat in front of a crackling fireplace and a wall of books.

"You seem well rested, Darling."

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice speaking to him from behind him, and when he turned around he was met with Sunset Shimmer, standing behind him, dressed in a set of magenta-colored pajamas, hands on her hips and an amused smile on her face.

Naruto froze...then immediately slammed his hands together. "Kai!"

She stared at him. "What are you doing?"

Seeing nothing had changed, he grinned at her sheepishly. "Ah, sorry, I thought this might be a genjutsu."

"What's a genjutsu?"

"Uh, it's an illusion…Seeing as...well," he gulped, "I-I...I figured this can't be real real."

"Ah. Release the energy in your body, break the illusion. I get it." Sunset nodded.

"Wait...nothing changed..." Naruto said, staring at her with a dawning look.

Sunset nodded "Mm-hmm."

"And you're still..." he said, pointing to her, his legs starting to shake.

Another nod, "Mm-hmm."

"And we're both wearing..."

Sunset started to grin as she nodded again. "Mm-hmm. And can I just say you actually have a very, very, VERY nice figure, by the way. Back included. Back especially as a matter of fact."

Naruto didn't know if it was possible to blush and pale at the same time, but he was pretty sure he did at that and he swallowed a huge lump in his throat.

"So...that means...we...?" he said faintly, then...

"YYYYAAAAAGGGUUUURRRRRAAAAHHHIIIIEEEKKKAAAGGGHHHMMMMMMMMAAAAAA!"

At the loud shout that rang out through the entire pocket dimension, Minato, Kushina, Shino, Sai, Choji, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, Might Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Anko, along with Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Chrysalis all burst into Naruto's room and saw that Sunset Shimmer stood in front of the room's closet.

"What're you doing here?!" Hinata snapped, glaring at the girl. She already didn't like her, but seeing Sunset Shimmer in NARUTO'S room was just over the line so badly that it didn't exist any more!

In reply, she pointed at the door to the room, her attention focused on the closet.

At the indication, the group turned to the door and saw it was Sunset Shimmer's Cutie Mark, but the group noticed something off about the red and yellow shimmering sun: in the red and yellow sun was a spiral crest reminiscent of the Uzumaki's symbol and the metal plate had Naruto's name with a pair of double 'S's.

"S.S Naruto Uzumaki? What is he, a ship?" Choji asked.

Twilight gasped and her jaw hung open,turning to Sunset. "Wait...S.S...no way! Those are your initials! Sunset Shimmer!"

 _ **"SAY WHAT?!"**_ Minato and Kushina shouted as everyone else jumped and dog-piled Hinata.

Sunset made a motion to ask of a moment with her hands to the others, then turned back to the door, "Come out of there." she said in a soothing tone.

"Don't wanna!" Naruto's voice cried from the other side. "As soon as I do, I'm dead!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Darling. No one's going to kill you!" Sunset said.

"Have you _MET_ Sakura?!" Naruto demanded from the other side of the locked door, causing the girl in question to growl and rub her knuckles with a scowl.

Sunset herself gave the young medical kunoichi a disapproving once-over before turning back to the door and calling out to the panicked young man behind it.

"Sakura...you mean the one on your team, right?"

"Yeah..." Naruto said uncertainly.

"Red outfit...green eyes...pink hair..." the redheaded unicorn-turned-human shot Sakura a glare and a smug smirk as she leaned against the wall next to the door, arms crossed under her assets in the chest department. "Absolutely no figure whatsoever...forehead the size of a sovereign nation?"

"HEY!" Sakura yelled.

"To my great regret, I've met that gorilla! Come on, Darling! She won't kill you. None of us'll let her hurt you, your Mom and Dad in particular! You're safe with us." Sunset assured.

"...But what about...? I mean...what it looked like...!"

At that, Sunset Shimmer blushed, knowing what he meant, and judging from the upset looks she received from Kurenai, Tsunade, Celestia and Luna, they did too.

Anko hung back next to Chrysalis, both of whom looked like they were trying to decide on if they should or shouldn't laugh.

"...All this great stuff, and me without a camera...karma, thou truly art a two-faced bitch!" Chrysalis muttered.

"Straight up, damn right, and amen, sister. I hear you loud and clear." the special Jonin said empathizing. So much tease material, so little time to commit it all to memory without being able to tape it. And who to heckle the crap out of first? It was agonizing trying to figure that out!

The two shared a look at one another and grinned. They could each honestly say they liked the other's style.

"That was my bad, I didn't have enough energy to make a separate room for the both of us along with all the other alterations to this space we're in." Sunset explained.

"...No kidding! Lucky it didn't kill you!" Twilight muttered, shuddering.

"I take full responsibility." Sunset said, half talking to Naruto, half to everyone else.

Kushina walked up and put a hand on the shoulder of Celestia's former student "Sunset...we'll talk about this later, but you don't need to worry... I know nothing happened. Just keep it platonic as far as being roommates and we're cool."

Sunset gulped and nodded, sure she'd said it causally, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Kushina made it sound like she was doing Sunset a favor, but there was an undertone that was downright menacing _._ And even without the threat, she already believed it that Kushina was scary!

"How can you tell?" Tsunade asked.

"Because I'm his mother!" Kushina said, as if explaining everything were as simple as that, letting go of Sunset and looking to Tsunade, "but seeing as you're at least fifty-three and have never had kids yourself, your ignorance as to a mother's ability to know these sorts of things is understandable, Tsunade." Kushina said, hands on her hips.

Tsunade fumed and veins bulged in her forehead at that.

Naruto was hanging from the ceiling with chakra, spread-eagled, and as far from the door as possible. His eyes were as big as silver dollars, and he was drenched in sweat while he was even paler than Orochimaru was!

"What's with him?" Rainbow asked.

"Its obvious: he's scared." Sunset said, walking into the closet, Naruto shrinking away from her as she neared him. "Come on, Naruto...take my hand. It'll be ok, trust me..." she cooed softly to him, offering said limb to him. Sure, she didn't like treating him like a frightened animal, but that was pretty much what he was a the moment.

Naruto gulped and looked up so that he was facing his father, who nodded.

Naruto slowly lowered himself down and took her hand and allowed himself to be lead out to the others, though his did flinch and try backing away at the sight of Sakura.

"Scared? What for?" Sakura said.

"I'm not surprised. You're so short-tempered and overly aggressive towards him for just about everything to the point where its because he simply exists, that you've psychologically-conditioned Naruto into be Gynophobic to the point where he feels safer turning to homosexuality." Sai said thoughtfully in his usual monotone.

At that, Kushina rounded on and lunged at Sakura, but Sunset lunged and grabbed Kushina under her arms, holding her back, "NO!"

Kushina turned her head and glared at the other redhead "Shimmer...I like you, but if you know what's good for you, you'll let me go so I can rip her apart!"

"Ms. Kushina, Please think about it! I understand why that would make you furious, but if he's been mentally scarred to see women as...as..as a bunch on mentally unstable, overly-aggressive time bombs like that, what's he supposed to think if he sees his **OWN MOTHER** acting like this! Please-FOR NARUTO'S SAKE!" Sunset cried.

At that, it was like a switch had been flipped and Kushina froze. Then her arms dropped to her sides. "...For Naruto's sake..." she repeated with a soft sigh. Dammit...! She felt the anger drain out of her and Sunset let her go.

"Just add it to the list of what she's gonna answer for later." Anko said.

Kushina nodded.

Sai blinked "...Did I say something wrong again?" he asked. While he had made great progress ever since meeting Naruto, he was still socially awkward about things due to his training and programming from ROOT.

"Can we finish here so we can freshen up, have some food, and get back to the book? That insensitive, creep piece of garbage Sasuke's getting beaten on this chapter, remember?!" Fluttershy snapped, shocking everyone.

"Right-a-rooney! I wanna see Mr. Broody Butt get clobbered!" Pinkie cheered in agreement.

At the words from the ones who were more or less the living incarnations of the Elements of Kindness and Laughter, Celestia and Luna shared a worried look to one another. Sasuke was an nasty piece of work, they'd even call the Uchiha the complete antithesis of the Elements of Harmony all on his own, but to see that Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity were WILLINGLY acting like they had been when Discord had corrupted them and reversed their affinities to their elements when it came to him...NOT good at all!

Less Sasuke was involved in the book, the better! The fact that Sakura just mindlessly followed Sasuke's lead didn't help either.

The group all headed into the mess hall.

"Pick a seat and grab a plate." the reformed mare/girl said.

"Why? Where's the food?" Choji said, looking around.

"That depends on what you think you'd like." she told him.

"Wait...so we just _think_ of what we wanna eat, and no matter what kind of food it is and no matter how much, it'll just appear on these dishes?!" the Akimichi asked, drooling. The reasoning behind the way the mess hall worked clicking into the food-loving young man's mind instantly. Then he instantly had a plate in his hands and was sitting at the table, a variable MOUNTAIN of freshly-cooked barbecue of every kind of meat imaginable right in front of him, which Choji instantly, happily started digging into.

"Yeah. and what doesn't get eaten just fades away, so no need for clean-up either. But they only work in this dimension we're in right now." Sunset said, telling him how the enchanted dishes she'd generated for this place worked.

"Book ending, bad. Must destroy." Choji said almost robotically as he looked up from his food, barbecue sauce covering his face.

Naruto smiled at that. So now he wasn't the only one who wanted that book incinerated? Good!

The reading group all looked surprised, but then again...considering what their rooms all looked like and how exhausted Sunset Shimmer had become after creating this place along with the rooms, that made sense that there wouldn't be any spared expense.

Sitting down and picking up plates of their own, everyone had their preferred meal conjured and they started eating. Once they were all full, the group of twenty-nine made their way back to the main room to resume reading. Much to Hinata's rage, Sunset took up Naruto's lap as her seat again. Sure there weren't any chairs left, but did she _HAVE_ to sit in Naruto's lap?! She could just sit on there floor, but nooo! Sunset Shimmer had to be that close Naruto! What made it worse was that Naruto's mother seemed to support how much that human-shaped horse was all over him! It made her blood boil seeing it!

Kakashi took the book in his hands. "Not my usual read, but I'll do it this time." He said.

"Thank all things holy and damned alike...Kakashi _CAN_ read something that isn't X-rated!" Kurenai muttered.

At the looks he was given, Kakashi laughed nervously before clearing his throat and stuck his nose in the book, the projector starting up on its own as the silver-haired man started.

 **Chapter 4: Prelims**

 **Naruto stood next to Kakashi and Sakura as he stared down at the two Genin about to take part in their Preliminary Battle; Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji.**

"This'll be good." Shino said.

 **His crystal blue eyes focused on nothing else but the two Top Rookies of their years; Neji being the Top Rookie a year before Sasuke was.**

"So experience-wise, His Royal Emo-ness is already at a disadvantage?" Rainbow dash said, smirking. "GOOD! Kill him, Neji! Kill him and eat the face right off his skull!" she cheered, to which the rest of the Mane Six shouted in agreement.

"Ok...I'm enjoying this side of the six of them! Makes it really hard to know what to root for. One one hoof...er...hand, I mean, I don't like this Uchiha guy any better than they do, but on the other, I like how nasty he makes them be and wanna see more of them acting like this..." Chrysalis muttered.

 **"You're Genin may be of a renowned clan,**

"He does know they both are, right?" Tenten muttered, shaking her head. Sad thing was, with her teacher, he really was that dumb!

 **Kakashi," began Neji's sensei Might Gai, "but Neji is much more experienced as a fighter."**

"Basically, what Darling pointed out a second ago." Sunset said.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Naruto asked, still sounding pretty uncomfortable with the sheer a of everything that had happened since Sunset Shimmer had arrived here.

She just smiled and snuggled deeper into his lap, "Tell you later, promise." she said.

 **It was no secret that Gai and Kakashi had a long standing rivalry between one another.**

At the mention of the so-called rivalry, Kakashi had to stop and moan in sheer annoyance. "Not that again! It isn't a rivalry, Guy just never left me alone unless I agreed to some silly contest!"

At that, Guy, still unable to speak because of Chrysalis' magic, looked hurt.

"Then why not just challenge him to stay away from you and avoid talking to you for as long as possible, missions not withstanding?" Twilight asked.

Kakashi stared at her, everyone able to tell he was gaping is shock, even with his mask on, then he groaned, "So obvious...! How could I have missed THAT...?! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!" the man raved, pulling at his hair and banging his head against the table until Ino caught him in one of her family's jutsu to get him to stop.

"...Here, I'll take that." Celestia said, holding out a hand and being passed the book, it was obvious that the Copy Ninja was too upset to read any further. Finding the place where Kakashi had left off, the sun princess continued from there.

 **Seeing their most recognized students**

The mares all snorted, the only thing they recognized about Sasuke was that he was a jerk!

 **going against one another was just another way to see which of the two Jonin was better.**

Lee pouted at that. Sure he understood it, but it still upset him that his rival was the most recognized member on his team! After all, he'd beaten Sasuke once! Granted, Sasuke proved he couldn't tell the difference between day one Academy basics about telling ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu apart even with a Sharingan in both eyes, but still!

 **"That may be, but Sasuke has been known to surprise people, Gai," retorted the masked Jonin with his patented eye-smile.**

"Really is amazing how he can be so expressive with just that one eye." Luna noted.

 **"We'll just have to wait and see what happens."**

"Die, emo-jerk! Die!"

"...Anyone else getting freaked out by how bloodthirsty and into it those six are getting?" Naruto asked everyone on his side of the table in a loud whisper.

The Konoha group and even Sunset, Celestia, and Luna all nodded at that, muttering in agreement.

"Good...didn't wanna be the only one..." Minato and Kushina's son said.

 **Anko stood between the two Genin and smirked at the glares they were giving one another. "Alright, let's get this fight underway! Ready…begin!" she yelled before she moved out of their way.**

"Because of course Sasuke would be the type to use human shields." Rarity said, her nose wrinkled in distaste.

Naruto blinked. "Ok...I know that what the alternate Sasuke and Sakura did to the other me last chapter was messed up, but that's a LOT of hate thrown Sasuke's way, even if he does deserve it."

"See why we're worried about the negative influence Sasuke and Sakura have on Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity?" Celestia asked, pausing in her reading.

Everyone nodded before she resumed.

 **The two jumped back simultaneously and launched shuriken at one another at high speed. The ninja stars clashed against each other, the ringing of metal filling the room, before they rushed each other with kunai drawn. Both of them activated their respective dojutsu as they met in the center of the arena, their knives meeting in a flash of sparks.**

"Stop playing monkey-see-monkey-do and waste the duck-butt already!"

"Would you guys cool it?! I get it, and so does everybody here: Sasuke's a creep and the six of you don't like him, but you're getting so worked up, you can't even realize you're all starting to lose sight of who you all are! You're starting to act like him without even realizing it!" Naruto said, making the Mane Six freeze and look at one another, horrified.

They gulped and looked down in shame at that. Last thing they wanted was to be anything like Sasuke.

"Sorry..." the mares all winced.

"Bad begets bad, what Sasuke's been like so far is understandably upsetting, but no need to let that make you sink to his level because you don't like him. Think about it, loyalty, honesty, generosity, laughter, kindness...how much of those things were in how spiteful you all feel towards Sasuke right now? You all care a lot and that's why Sasuke's way of treating others has you so upset, I get that and I'm grateful, but at least try and tone it down with how mad he makes you all, ok?" Naruto said to them soothingly.

"Nicely said." Celestia said, smiling at the young blond. It was easy to see the boy was a good soul. It was heartening to know he'd snapped them out of it with them loosing themselves to their own feelings of contempt like that.

Minato and Kushina beamed, proud of seeing just the kind of person their son had become. Kushina even had to whip tears from her eyes.

"...And this is why I call you 'Darling'." Sunset said with a small smile.

 **While they each had one hand holding the kunai they were using, they both tried to strike their opponent with their free hand.**

"Two hands for a reason, fellas. Use 'em!" Anko said, grinning.

 **Sasuke went for a fierce punch while Neji went for a jab with two fingers. Only the Jonin, Hinata, and Neji's teammates saw the significance of the jab and they all cringed as Neji's arm seemed to snake around the Uchiha's arm and strike him on the bicep.**

"Why's that?" Twilight asked.

 **They both pushed away from each other while Sasuke held his aching arm and Neji smirked.**

"His arm aches from that one little tap?" Sunset shook her head, either something was up or Sasuke was as delicate as he was lousy with people skills, and she bet the former. What did Neji do?

 **"What the hell?" asked the Uchiha in confusion as the pain didn't subside in the slightest. "What did you do to me?"**

"Yes, please explain." Twilight said, curious.

 **"Your chakra point on your arm… I struck it with my own chakra and forcefully cut it off from your chakra network. The pain your feeling is the chakra trying desperately to flow even with the new 'roadblock'.**

"...Whoa...he can do that? Just by tapping someone?" Rainbow dash said, while she didn't get everything, she understood enough to where she could figure that Neji wasn't someone to go against up close.

"Better believe it. I had to face him once and I can testify to that." Naruto said.

 **There's a reason why we Hyuuga are more feared than the Uchiha, and you're experiencing it now. Who would go against someone who could cut you off from your chakra with the slightest of taps?"**

"Hmm...seems kind of cocky, but then he does have a reason for it." Luna said. If chakra was like the energy of Equestrian magic, that would explain why these Hyuuga were seen as frightening. They just tap you and you couldn't even be able to move your body where they did? Scary stuff.

 **Sasuke growled as he tried to ignore the pain and assumed his taijutsu stance.**

"Taijutsu?" Twilight asked.

"Term where we're from for hand-to-hand." Ino said.

Rainbow dash burst out laughing at that. "Up close and head-to-head against this guy?" the Pegasus looked at Naruto, who once again had to rest his head on Sunset's shoulder to be able to see, "Man, Blondie...what did they offer you in exchange to babysit these two morons?! Better have been something grate!"

"That would've made more sense, actually. An egotistical, santamony-drunk coward and a desk drone that's just there to fill a slot to give them a full three people...should've payed him to put up with the two of them." Tenten said.

 **Meanwhile, Sakura was asking about the Hyuuga and was being informed about them by Kakashi, Gai, and Rock Lee. Naruto only half paid attention**

"So pretty much the same as usual when it comes to him paying attention?" Sakura said.

"...Care to repeat that?" Kushina asked in a strained tone as her fingers twitched dangerously.

Everyone frowned at Sakura, Naruto had already pointed out he learned best by doing so that things involving paperwork, test scores, and lectures only served to confuse and bore him more than once. What did it take for her to listen?

 **since he kept on feeling a tingle in the back of his mind, warning him of ill intent in the area.**

"Well...that's a handy trick." Applejack said.

Chrysalis, on the other hand, cringed at that. He could sense ill intent and negative emotion? As far as she and her species were concerned, that would be utter hell to deal with! Their transformations would be completely worthless in the face of an ability like that! And the one with that ability was on good terms with her enemies! Dammit! There had to be something she could do to turn things around! There just HAD to be!

 **His eyes scanned the room, trying to see who would cause him to worry so much, before they passed Sasuke and the feeling grew.**

"Well, that figures." Shikamaru drawled, not at all surprised.

 **His eyes narrowed as the feeling seemed to originate from Sasuke's left shoulder,**

Everyone from Konoha winced at that, Anko worst out of all of them.

 **confusing the Uzumaki greatly. The tingle in his mind pulsed every few seconds right after he felt it pulse from Sasuke's shoulder. 'What the hell could be causing this feeling? What is Sasuke hiding on his shoulder?'**

"Part of me still really wishes I hadn't found that out, but the other wished I knew sooner...things might've been different." Naruto said, shooting a pointed look at Sakura, who withered under his gaze.

Tsunade nodded, "Agreed. Would've studied a way to remove that mark first before getting Sasuke out of that Tsukuyomi-induced coma...Sasuke was useless to Orochimaru's needs as far as possession went as long as he was in that state. Itachi actually did everyone a favor making it so he couldn't take Sasuke's body for himself."

Sakura sunk lower at that.

 **Back to the fight, Sasuke was trying to keep his distance after being struck a couple more times by Neji; twice in his arms and once in his leg when he went for a kick.**

"So he finally wised up, eh? And all it took was nearly loosing being able to use three limbs." Kiba shrugged. "Still, fact that it came to that for him to get it is just pathetic."

 **His hands weaved through handseals, focusing his chakra from its core to his lungs,**

"Three...two...one..." Naruto winced. Sure this was back when Neji was a fatalistic jerk, but that was still going too far on Sasuke's part!

 **before he held his hand to his mouth and released his jutsu. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball)!"**

"SAY WHAT!?" The mares all cried in shock.

"He can breath fire?!" Twilight gasped

"Chakra can be applied to allow quantum-defiant actions depending on how its used. Is magic really all that different? There's a reason the two energies were compatible enough to create this space." Minato said.

At that, the mares all looked thoughtful.

 **From the Uchiha's lips came a fireball wide enough to burn three people standing side-by-side. Neji's eyes narrowed as he didn't have any techniques to counter the flaming sphere.**

"So no Rotation...Sasuke, you lucky...!" Naruto grunted. Sure, the Hyuuga Clan's so-called "ultimate defense" had a GIANT GAPING HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF IT, but the spinning dome of energy was still a pain to deal with!

 **So, he focused chakra into his legs and leaped over the fireball. However, Sasuke saw Neji's intentions with his Sharingan and was already in the air with his fist cocked back. Neji wasn't expecting the Uchiha to be there, but he was able to raise his arms for a weak block against Sasuke's punch.**

 **The strike pushed Neji back to the ground, but the Hyuuga was able to recover and land on his feet. But Sasuke wasn't done and he launched another jutsu. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Sage Fire)!" A cluster of small fireballs shot from the Genin's mouth, each forcing Neji to jump out of harm's way. While the fireballs tried to strike Neji, Sasuke pulled out a folded windmill shuriken and unfurled it before he threw it with all of his might.**

 **Neji dodged the last fireball just in time to see the large shuriken coming at him. His eyes narrowed and he leaped over the shuriken and smirked as he looked back and saw it stab into the wall behind him.**

 **"Neji, look out!" Higurashi Tenten, his other teammate, called out to him.**

"What? My team actually gets supporting each other and watching one another's backs." Tenten said.

"Any chance YOU'D be willing to take Sakura's place as the kunoichi my kid has for a teammate?" Kushina asked.

The brunette shrugged, "Not my call to make. All higher-ups, know what I mean? But for the record, he and I've worked together before and he's easy to depend on. Keep things simple, there won't be a problem. My only issue is how he's easy to worry about."

"I can believe that." Rainbow dash said, recalling what his other had done and sent her counterpart away before taking on Orochimaru.

"He just cannot stop getting into risky situations because he cares about everyone else around him so much that he doesn't have any concern left for himself, but for the record, not only do I understand that, I like it about him. Thing is, he throws too much on his own shoulders without a second thought about making everyone else worry about if he's ok. And he's had to live and grow up in a way where he's had to be utterly self-reliant, I get that and how it makes it hard not to do everything alone, but still..." Tenten said.

Naruto flinched, yet the mares all nodded, they understood that easily. Both sides of it, Naruto's and Tenten's, as a matter of fact.

"Heh, knew it...just knew he and I were gonna get along great. He's the same as me." Rainbow dash said, shaking her head, fully amused.

"So you like and respect him, as well as never want him to change that aspect of who he is about helping whoever needs it...just that he be more conscious of how his actions affect the ones that care about him so he isn't so reckless." Celestia said.

Tenten nodded.

 **The Hyuuga turned back to Sasuke and instinctively jumped to his side to avoid whatever threat was approaching. A sudden plume of smoke clouded his vision**

"How could that even work with the Byakugan?" Kurenai scoffed.

 **and the next thing he knew was intense force striking him from under his chin and launching him into the air.**

"And here we go with copying Lee..." Naruto droned.

 **From the smoke, Sasuke was seen crouched low with his leg in an upward kicking position, much like Neji's taijutsu-using teammate. He then disappeared in a blur and reappeared behind the Hyuuga who looked back with a scowl.**

 **"Typical Uchiha; unable to fight without using the skills of others," he stated while Sasuke held two fingers against his back.**

"So other than fire, he's just a copycat? Lame!" Rainbow dash cried.

 **"While it's true that the first kick was someone else's, from here on it's all original!"**

"Doesn't know the meaning of originality." Tsunade shook her head. As a Senju, she had met plenty of Uchiha, and being unoriginal was the family trademark for all of them.

 **He then lashed out with a kick, but Neji blocked it with his forearm and smirked. However, Sasuke smirked as well as he used the blocking arm to help him spin in midair and appear above the Hyuuga with punch to his chest. He then continued his spin and kicked his face, forcing the Hyuuga's body to have his torso become more exposed. With a final spin, Sasuke slammed the heel of his foot against Neji's stomach and into the ground beneath them with a cry of, "Shishsi Rendan (Lion Combo)!"**

"A mid-air dropkick...big whoop. Get high enough, anybody could do that." Twilight said, then blinked and turned to the princesses as well as the two Pegasus "No offence." she said quickly.

"What for? You're right about that." Luna said.

 **Neji's mouth was agape with a silent scream of pain as the wind was knocked completely out of his lungs and the force of Sasuke's kick made him cough out blood with the air. Sasuke stumbled back slightly as he tried to fight off the fatigue his body was feeling at the combo he pulled off.**

 **Anko saw that Neji wasn't getting up and gestured to Sasuke. "The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!"**

The Mane Six scowled. They wanted to see Sasuke loose!

 **Most of the Genin of the Leaf were speechless at Sasuke's win, especially Team Gai, but the silence was cut as Sakura cried out happily for Sasuke's victory.**

"Of course she starts cheering him on." Rarity said, annoyed.

 **Ino was quick to follow**

"So glad I'm over that schoolgirl crush on Sasuke..." Ino muttered.

 **while Kakashi just gave another eye smile. Naruto was silent, but he couldn't help but see the fight as interesting and knew that Sasuke worked hard for that win.**

"Sasuke working hard...yeah right, that'll be the day!" Kiba muttered, if Sasuke knew squat about hard work, he wouldn't have turned to Orochimaru for shortcuts to getting stronger.

 **"Now, for the next match…" Anko said as the board shuffled through names again. When it stopped, the Tokubetsu Jonin called out, "The second match will be between Abumi Zaku and Akamichi Choji."**

Shikamaru paled. He remembered this guy. Deliberately provoking an Akamichi wasn't smart. Not with those size-enhancing techniques of theirs.

 **The medics had just finished taking Neji to the infirmary while fixing up Sasuke on the arena floor as the next two combatants stepped down to the arena floor. Sasuke made his way to his team where his sensei and Sakura congratulated him. His eyes turned to Naruto who merely gave him a blank look before he looked back down to the arena.**

 **[The Uchiha really had to push himself for that win,] Dash said to Naruto through their mental link.**

"Still find those telepathy seals awesome!" Rainbow dash grinned.

 **'Yes he did… Neji wasn't an easy fight and I have no doubt that Sasuke is still feeling the sting of those earlier strikes.'**

 **[Who do you think you'll end up facing?]**

 **'No idea… I just have to wait I suppose,'**

"I hate waiting." Naruto muttered

 **answered the blonde as he saw the match begin and Choji increase his size with the Baika no Jutsu (Multi-Size Technique), making him look like a giant ball with hands, feet, and a small head.**

"Looks kinda silly." Pinkie said.

"It's just the start-up." Naruto said quickly before Choji could get out of his seat.

"Oh...! Sorry then!" Pinkie told the Akamichi.

Choji nodded.

 **Zaku smirked at this and called out, "What do you know? The fat ass made himself fatter!"**

Choji stiffened in outrage while everyone else from Konoha paled.

 **As he laughed at his own joke, many of the Genin cringed as they saw Choji become enraged at being called one of the most hated words of his clan.**

"Not good!"

 **With a roar, he pulled his limbs and head tight against his body and began to roll forward at incredible speed for something his current size. "Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank)!" cried the Akamichi as his rolling form tore up the arena floor.**

"He's like a bowling ball." Twilight observed.

"Fitting since this Zaku guy is such a pinhead!" Applejack said.

Choji actually laughed at that.

 **Zaku never lost his smirk as he held out his hands in front of him with his palms facing forward. Some of the shinobi in the balconies were able to see small holes in his palms with tube-like openings filling them.** **"Let's see you handle this; Zankūha (Decapitating Airwaves)!"**

 **From the openings, highly compressed blasts of air were fired, halting the rolling mass in its tracks; though it still rolled in place. Zaku's smirk turned positively bloodthirsty as he shifted the output from his tubings.**

Everyone winced at that.

 **The air being blasted was a mix of air and sound waves, resulting in the blast being formed. However, he was able to change the output at will if he wished.**

Choji winced. That didn't sound good for his other self!

 **'Alright… Take away the air and make it 100% sound!'**

 **Suddenly, the blast shifted and a horrible screeching sound was heard throughout the arena. Those with sensitive hearing covered their ears at the sound while Akamaru whined in pain. However, Choji was given the full brunt of the screeching and it was amplified by his increased size. The water in his body was acting like an amplifier for the screeching and it rushed to his ears without abandon.**

"That can't be good..." Applejack winced.

 **The result was the Akamichi forcibly dispelling his technique and falling unconscious with his ears leaking blood. Zaku stopped the technique when he saw this and grinned at his downed opponent. "Guess it's true; the bigger they are, the harder they fall," he commented with a bark of laughter.**

 **Anko gave Choji a pitying glance and called out, "The winner is Abumi Zaku!"**

 **Team 10 looked on sadly as Choji was carried out to the infirmary on a stretcher. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at Zaku for what he did to his best friend**

Choji and Shikamaru grinned at one another. As hard as it was to see his other self loose, it was heartening to see that, even across time, space, and even other realities, that they'd always be friends.

 **and the usually lazy Genin actually found the desire to do something. And that something was getting back at Zaku for what he did.**

"Damn right I would...insult and mess with my best friend like that, let me at him." Shikamaru said, narrowing his eyes.

 **"The next match will be between Kinuta Dosu and Inuzuka Kiba!" Anko called out**

"Oh, yeah! I got this in the bag!" Kiba cheered.

 **while mentally checking this match off in favor of the Oto Genin.**

"What?!" Kiba shouted, glaring at the snake-summoner.

 **It was no secret that the Inuzuka had heightened senses of smell and hearing, and facing a sound user with an increased sense of hearing was a sure-fire way to lose.**

Akamaru whined at that while the dog's master paled. Oh shit! The other him was in trouble! Kiba may have been brash, but he knew that wouldn't work out to his advantage!

 **She was proven correct when the match proved to be the shortest one yet.**

Kiba winced at that.

 **All Dosu did was pull out a kunai and drag the blade across his melody arm, making it sound like the scratching of a chalkboard multiplied by ten. Kiba and Akamaru were down before they could even pull off a jutsu.**

At that, Fluttershy walked over to Akamaru and hugged the dog around the neck and scratching him behind the ears, muttering soft assurances to the animal.

Kiba couldn't help smiling at that, sure his alternate self's loss was a nasty pill to swallow, but as an Inuzuka, he couldn't help but feel touched for someone who was such an animal-lover.

...Besides, at least his other didn't have to deal with the shroud of having lost because of a fart! He STILL hadn't gotten over how humiliating that was!

 **"The winner is Kinuta Dosu!" called out the purple haired proctor.**

 **Naruto shook his head in pity at Kiba's match. True it meant one less competitor, but Kiba at least deserved a chance to fight back. 'It looks like his family's strength became his biggest weakness…'**

 **[Geez… What a way to go…] Dash commented and Naruto imagined her shaking her head in pity.**

"Thanks." Kiba told Rainbow dash.

 **"The next match will be between Subaku no Kankuro and Tsurugi Misumi!" called out Anko as the two Genin made their way down.**

 **[Unknown Location]**

 **A certain silver haired 'Genin' walked through the torch lit halls of a hidden bunker as he made his way to his master.**

Naruto growled. Kabuto and Orochimaru...damn them both!

 **He fixed his glasses as he walked with a smirk on his face, making those who passed him avoid his gaze.**

 **When he made his way to an open room, he kneeled and bowed his head to his lord. "Everything is going according to plan, Orochimaru-sama."**

Everyone either flinched or glared at that name.

"Kabuto works for that...that...I can't even say!" Rarity said.

Naruto, Tsunade, and the collective Jonin all nodded with grim anger.

 **A dark chuckle echoed through the room as snake-like yellow eyes bore down on his most loyal subordinate. "Excellent… I take it Sasuke-kun is advancing to the finals?"**

"Should've disqualified the punk!" Anko muttered.

 **"Yes, my lord. He was able to prevail against the elder Hyuuga Genin in the preliminaries."**

 **Orochimaru gave a cruel grin at that, but it faltered slightly when he saw the confused look on Kabuto's face. "Something on your mind, Kabuto?"**

"Anyone else not liking where this is going?" Ino said.

Everyone nodded.

 **"No, my lord… At least I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning or not." When Orochimaru motioned for him to continue, the silver haired man said, "I'm mainly curious as to why you allowed Uzumaki to live… I understand that he is needed for Sasuke to advance, but you could have easily fooled the others with a clone in his likeliness."**

Naruto gulped and his parents paled.

 **"So, you're confused as to why I did not do that and let him live…" Kabuto nodded, making Orochimaru smirk. "Truly, Kabuto, you have a keen mind but even the simplest things can escape you at times."**

 **"My lord…?"**

 **"This is a golden opportunity, Kabuto," the snake man declared as he stood and began to pace the floor slowly. "An opportunity to see an Uzumaki go farther than that of Lady Mito ever did. She was held back by her ties to Konoha and her husband, but Naruto…" He chuckled darkly as a gleam appeared in his eyes. "Naruto has nothing holding him here.**

"Drop dead, you supped-up maggot!" Sunset hissed, causing Anko to give her a double thumbs-up at what her opinion of Orochimaru was. Supped-up maggot...now THAT was a good insult!

 **His family is dead,**

Minato and Kushina flinched.

 **the man he trusts has lied to him for his entire life,**

Celestia and Luna both scowled, they took back what they thought of the first impression of the Third Hokage at that.

 **and anyone else he cares for won't be an issue unless they try and stop him. He already has an extensive knowledge of the sealing arts, has a tremendous amount of chakra, the Kyuubi to call upon, and lastly his mother's famous Chakra Chains." His gleaming eyes turned to Kabuto while his smirk turned into a fanged grin. "Imagine…if we were able to persuade him to join our cause.**

"LIKE HELL!" Naruto roared. Then he winced and turned to the girl in his lap, "Uh...sorry for shouting like that." he said.

"No need, Darling," she said, removing a pair of earplugs, I conjured these in my ears the moment the deluded maggot started talking." Sunset shrugged, "I know how to read lips." she explained.

Then she grinned and clapped her hands onto Naruto's cheeks holding his head in place and leaned in as if she were going to kiss him before they both froze.

"What the...?!"

"Shadow Possession success." Shikamaru drawled as Hinata slipped him a fifty under the table.

"Shikamaru..." Ino said crossly.

"What? We're here to read the book, not watch Sunset and Naruto make out." he defended.

"Still, either we hear Orochimaru blathering, or that. You mean you like it when the snake's plotting?" the flower shop girl asked.

Shikamaru sighed and undid his jutsu. _'Sorry Hinata...but seeing a horse that's turned into a human make out with Naruto sure beats hearing Orochimaru talk...no refunds.'_ he thought.

Hinata was twitching up a fit as both what Sunset had almost done AND at Ino for pointing out why it should've been allowed. That settled it...Sunset Shimmer was going to DIE!

Pulling back, Sunset grinned, "I can't believe they bought that!" she said. Naruto blinked, then his eyes widened in realization and he whistled with a smirk. "Damn...you're good!"

"Thank you, Darling. Figured something like that would take everyone's minds off the snake creep for a bit. Sorry I didn't let you know, but-"

"But nothing. As a prankster, I know how sometimes desperation demands improvisation! Don't gotta tell me that!" Naruto said as Sunset let his face go and turned back around in his lap.

Kushina tried not to laugh. Damn...Shimmer was pretty bold with teasing. The Uzumaki woman loved it! Besides, she needed the diversion right now!

 **While I wouldn't be able to possess his body, I could always do so to any child he sires so long as they do not receive the Kyuubi."**

Minato and Kushina grit their teeth and their breathing picked up, Went without saying the idea of Orochimaru going after their grandchildren left them furious!

 **Realization dawned on Kabuto. "So, you let him live to see if he's worth recruiting;**

"WOULD NEVER JOIN YOU! KEEP DREAMING CREEPS!" everyone fro Konoha and Equestria all shouted at that.

 **if he's worthy of his clan's name and heritage…"**

"He IS! With or without anyone's approval!" Kushina shouted in outrage.

 **Another dark chuckle echoed through the room as Orochimaru sat back down on his throne. "Precisely…" he practically hissed as the gleam never left his eyes.**

 **[Central Tower (Arena)]**

 **"The winner is Subaku no Kankuro!" called out Anko as said Genin made his puppet let go of the now dead Misumi.**

"WHAT?!" the Mares cried, horrified.

 **Many of the Genin couldn't help but cringe at the brutality of the win since they had never seen someone have so many of their bones broken…in a single moment.**

"...Glad we missed it then." Twilight shuddered.

 **"The fifth match will be between Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura!"**

"This could be interesting." Sakura said.

"What...seeing a wallflower beat you into the ground?" Kushina smirked.

Sakura gaped at the woman and was about to retort when a kunai zipped past her and embedded into her chair's backrest, quivering ominously right next to her jugular.

"Something to say to my mother?" Naruto said calmly.

"Takes after her all right." Minato said, shaking his head, amused.

 **Said kunoichi both made their way down to the arena. While Sakura was confident in her ability to win, Hinata seemed incredibly nervous. Naruto couldn't help but think that Fluttershy put Hinata to shame in confidence. At least the pegasus was able to talk without a stutter and even willed herself to hug him when they first met.**

Hinata hung her head, crushing disappointment filling her face. Sure it wasn't _her_ Naruto who thought it, but it still stung to be seen as inferior to a horse.

 **He couldn't help but sigh and shake his head as the fight started and Hinata appeared to doubt every decision she made while Sakura attacked with a mixture of basic Bunshin (Clones) and shuriken. Hinata was able to evade the ninja stars, but she was so worried about which Sakura was the real one that she forgot to activate her bloodline.**

Hinata flinched at that as her teammates winced sympathetically. Hinata's low self-esteem had caused her to make that same mistake in the past when she was starting out.

 **"C'mon, you can't be this weak can you?" taunted Sakura, making a few of the Genin scowl slightly.**

Sakura gulped at the spikes of killer intent Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, and Kurenai sent at her, "Other me, other me, other me, other me! It's the alternate me in the book! I don't know why the other me is such a bitch!" she said pleadingly.

 **Sure, Sakura was named Top Kunoichi of their year,**

"Complete lie." Naruto said at that, "As it turns out, _Ino_ was our graduating class's top Kunoichi, best overall grades in the Academy. She had the highest grade in assertiveness and the second-highest grades in ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, cooperation, and class attitude, being beat by Sasuke in ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. I checked."

"How'd you know that?"

"No way...you broke into the school's records room?!" Twilight gaped, looking horrified.

"Yet he was still seen as the worst in our year according to the records after graduating." Shikamaru pointed out.

"So you could've...then you didn't...but you didn't change your grades?" Applejack said, surprised, then grinned and tipped her hat to Naruto, impressed with his honesty about that. She didn't know anyone who would've left their records alone rather than changing them to be the best the way he had if they had that chance.

 **but Hinata was from a high standing clan and could easily push back Sakura. However, they all knew of her incredibly passive and timid nature.**

Fluttershy, being an incredibly passive and timid individual herself, nodded supportively.

 **Surprisingly, it was a normally quiet Genin who spoke up. "Hinata… You can do this. You may see yourself as a weak caterpillar, but you have the makings of a noble butterfly. Now, prove that to us here and now."**

Everyone looked at Shino in shock, before Naruto broke out into a grin and applauded the insect-tamer. He may have been the silent type, when the guy spoke, it was worth listening to!

 **Every Konoha Genin looked to Shino in shock at his words. While he may not have yelled out to her, his words easily broke through the sounds of the fight. Hinata was the most surprised. She knew that Shino was always looking out for her, but she never knew he believed in her so much.**

"That last part's untrue, I've always known you believed in me." Hinata smiled at her teammate.

Shino smiled.

 **Determination filled her eyes as she finally activated her dojutsu and entered her clan's famous taijutsu stance. "I-I won't run away; not anymore," she softly declared as she finally took the offensive and charged Sakura. Her eyes easily saw through the Bunshin that Sakura sent at her and she continued to advance on the pinkette who was looking more and more worried by the second. Hinata finally got into her guard and hit the girl's stomach with an open palm interlaced with chakra.**

"Comeuppance!" Rarity grinned.

 **The result was Sakura being blown back a few feet and sent tumbling. The pinkette tried to stand back up, but the pain was so intense and she had some trouble regaining her breath.**

 **Anko saw that Sakura was done**

"Really? One hit and you're already out of it? And after all that big talk when you were ahead, too! You're pathetic!" Chrysalis laughed.

 **and gave the Hyuuga a smirk. "Not bad, girly… Not bad at all. The winner is Hyuuga Hinata!"**

 **Yuhi Kurenai, her Jonin sensei, and Shino bother applauded for Hinata as she made her way back up to the balconies. As they congratulated her, Anko called out the next match.**

 **"Match Six will be between Nara Shikamaru and Higurashi Tenten!"**

 **The lazy Genin sighed in annoyance. "Great, I get to fight a girl… Troublesome…"**

"What was that?!" Tenten demanded.

"Alternate self. Don't get mad at me for it." the Nara pointed out.

 **Tenten took offense to that and called out to him from the floor. "Hey, get your lazy ass down here so that I could kick it all the way into next week!"**

"...I like you already." Rainbow dash grinned at Tenten.

"Likewise." the weapon mistress said back, smirking herself.

"Should be-MURRPH!" Twilight started to say, only for a baked potato to go flying from the mess hall and into her mouth.

Everyone turned to see a pair of clones of Naruto standing in the room the spud had come from.

"Guards." Naruto explained."Nobody raiding the mess hall that way."

Choji shot Naruto a glare.

"AND the added bonus of making it so we don't owe Rainbow dash an arm and a leg because Twilight's OCD, too! Good on ya, Naruto!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

 **Shika just muttered his clan's famous catchphrase once again as he made his way down. However, while it looked like he was simply complaining to many of the spectators, his mind was working at full force in hopes of coming up with a strategy. 'It looks like there isn't anything to take cover behind, so weapons won't be hindered. There's an artificial light source, so our shadow output is a constant. However, her skill set is still unknown at the moment so I have no idea what to expect for now.'**

"So you're a tactician?" Twilight asked.

Shikamaru grunted "What about it?"

The lavender-hued girl held up her hands "Nothing...I just really respect someone that knows how to think, is all." the brainiac said.

"You should see him at a game of Shogi." Choji chuckled.

At that, Twilight hummed and looked thoughtful before she grinned. "That so? Well...how about a game then next break we have from the book?"

At that, the Konoha side of the reading group all gawked at the idea of Shikamaru openly being challenged to one of his best games, except for the shadow-user himself, who sized up Twilight and smirked then held out a hand to her, which she shook, "Looking forward to a good game in that case, Twilight."

 **"Alright, let the sixth match begin!" Anko yelled as she moved out of the way.**

 **Tenten was the first to attack as she jumped back and pulled out a storage scroll. She unrolled it, having the seal point at Shikamaru, and poured some of her chakra into it. The seal lit up and began to fire volley after volley of various weapons ranging from typical shuriken and kunai to small sickles and senbon.**

 **Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at the attack and he quickly moved around the arena while throwing his own shuriken at the weapons he knew he couldn't dodge. He kept his eyes on Tenten though in case she tried to blindside him. However, the girl just kept on using ranged weapons and nothing else.**

Tenten sighed, "I've said this before, but three members of Team Guy specialize in close-contact battles, so I'm often rendering aid from the distance. I don't mind providing back up, but I'm always hoping to find new ninja tools that would enable me to fight on the front lines for a change."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "And like I said when I heard that: if that's what you want, then stop thinking about it so much and just do it."

Tenten shook her head, smiling fondly at Naruto at that. Simple and sweet...that described him very well in the eyes of the bun-haired girl.

 **"Talk about a one trick pony," he muttered,**

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" all the readers from Equestria except Chrysalis shouted, glaring at the shadow-user.

 **though many people heard him and a certain pegasus took offense to it.**

 **[Oh, he did NOT just say that! He had better hope that he doesn't meet me…] she growled as his comment got under her skin.**

 **'Calm down, Dash… He's just annoyed and used the saying that came to him first. He wasn't insulting you or the others.'**

At that, the Equestrians all calmed down.

 **Dash just huffed in annoyance and stayed quiet as the arena floor was slowly being covered in the many weapons. Shika, now covered in many cuts and having a few senbon stabbed into him, finally decided to take the offensive and threw a flash bomb at Tenten. The resulting flash hit the metallic sheen of the many weapons, increasing the glare of it all while Shikamaru held his hands in a seal. "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession)!" he cried while Tenten was forced to shield her eyes. Due to the increase in light, Shika's**

"So it's not even saying my full name, now?" Shikamaru asked, a little annoyed.

 **shadow was able to quickly attach itself to the weapon user's, trapping her in place. He then moved his body to grab a weapon, forcing Tenten's to move the same way, and had her grab one of her own kunai. As he made her hold it to her throat, he said, "Give up, or else I'll have you slit your own throat."**

Tenten winced.

 **Tenten growled in annoyance before she reluctantly called out, "I yield…"**

"Hate having to do that, but it beats the alternative..." Tenten muttered.

 **"The winner is Nara Shikamaru!" called out Anko as the lazy Genin made his way back up and Tenten picked up her many weapons with Lee and Gai helping her. When the arena floor was clear, Anko declared, "The next match will be between Aburame Shino and Tsuchi Kin!"**

"And Shino's won." Naruto said.

"I've seen the kind of stuff you can do. You're the same as Shikamaru, and a bit of a one-man army." the blond said matter-of-fact.

Shino blinked at that behind his goggles, then his lip twitched.

 **The two Genin made their way down and stared at one another as Anko called the match to start. Shino merely stood there and kept his shaded gaze locked onto Kin's, unnerving her slightly. Soon, a growing sound was heard throughout the arena as dark 'clouds' appeared out of Shino's sleeves. When they appeared, the sound was revealed to be the buzzing of many insects and realization dawned on Kin.**

 **"Those bugs are coming from you!"**

At that, Chrysalis looked interested. She was part insectoid, after all.

 **"Correct… My clan has each of their members act like a living hive where our insects live and feed off of our chakra to grow. In return, they assist us in our endeavors."**

"OH!" Chrysalis grinned deviously, eyeing Shino with wicked approval, " 'One-man army' he says, ha! I get it! Ahahah~! You're a single person with an army of insectoids at your command! Love it!" she cackled.

 **Kin's eyes narrowed as she pulled out some senbon with small bells on them and threw them at the bug user. Shino was able to easily evade them and noticed the ninja wire on each of them, but he wasn't worried. When Kin pulled the wire and made the bells ring, she expected the bug user to experience vertigo and fogginess of the mind.**

"Expected?" Twilight said.

 **But Shino stood there unmoving and with no signs of being affected. "While your tactic is god for a Genin, you looked over a crucial detail; the buzzing of my insects has nullified your bells. As a result, your bells' tones have not reached my ears and they won't so long as my insects keep buzzing. You also never noticed the insects now surrounding you."**

"And she's done." Chrysalis grinned.

 **Kin immediately looked down and saw many insects clinging to her sandals before they crawled onto her legs and began making their way all over her body. She tried to swipe them off, but they just kept coming and relentlessly covered her form.**

"EWWWW!" Rarity cried.

"HEY!" the changeling queen shouted. She found that insulting. The bugs were just doing what Shino wanted them to, and doing what bugs did naturally anyways: swarming and getting just about everywhere.

 **"Surrender or else they will suck your chakra dry," stated the Aburame.**

 **Kin glared at him**

"Didn't cover her head, huh?" Chrysalis said.

"No reason to." Shino stated.

 **before she hung her head in defeat and nodded, making Anko call out, "The winner is Aburame Shino!"**

"Called it." Naruto said.

 **As soon as the words were announced, Shino called back his insects and the two Genin made their way back up to the balconies. The board shuffled through the names of the remaining six Genin before it stopped on two names that made some of the Genin gasp.**

 **"The eighth match will be between Rock Lee and Subaku no Gaara!"**

The Konoha group who saw the fight all winced, Damn...thew ONE fight they wanted to go differently! None of them liked what had happened to Lee!

 **Gaara was quick to appear on the ground in a swirl of sand while Lee flipped over the railing and onto the ground. He assumed a stance where one arm was behind his back and the other was raised in front of him with the palm facing upwards. He stood straight with no bending of the knees, making some of the Genin doubt the usefulness of the stance.**

"Then we see what he can do, and the doubting stops." Kakashi said. Seriously...the may have been weirdos, but Guy and Lee were utter monsters with taijutsu. Anyone that didn't acknowledge their prowess at it was insane!

 **Lee suddenly swiped his front hand and caught the cork of the gourd that Gaara carried on his back. "Don't be so impatient, Gaara-san. The match hasn't even begun yet."**

 **Naruto stared down at them with his eyes narrowed at Gaara. He sensed something from the redhead Genin, but he couldn't figure out what it was.**

"Shukaku..." Naruto winced, damnit! He should've know earlier that Gaara was the same as him! He could've warned Lee and things would've been different!

 **He also felt a tug on his mind, and he tried to ignore it. However, as soon as Anko called for the match to start, the strongest tug was felt and his consciousness delved deep into his subconscious.**

"Oh joy..." Kushina said. She knew where _this_ was gonna go!

 **The first thing he noticed was the sound of water dripping down onto a larger source of it. His eyes opened and he saw that he was standing in ankle-deep water in some large hallway. Pipes ran along the ceiling, making it look like he was in the lower levels of a large building or even a sewer.**

Rarity looked at Naruto as if trying to find a comment that described how wrong she found the idea of a person's brain being a sewer.

"...Sounds like someone could use a plumber." Rainbow dash said.

 **A whisper of his name was heard coming from the direction he was facing, but it felt cold; malicious even.**

The mares winced.

"Still spooky and moody, huh?" Kushina asked her son.

Naruto nodded. "At the time, yeah. He did get better though."

 **He couldn't help but want to stay away from it and turned to face the other way. This path felt cold as well, but it wasn't a foreboding type of cold. No, this cold felt natural like a very cool breeze…or snow.**

"Huh?!" Naruto said. "Ok...what's with that?!"

 **His eyes narrowed at that and he made to take a step toward the colder path. However, as soon as he raised his foot, he felt his body being pulled towards the more malicious feeling while his foot was being dragged through the water. He felt the pull was strongest around his stomach and looked at it, only to see that a crimson colored energy was stretching out of it and pulling him along the path.**

"Not liking this..." Luna said.

 **When the pulling finally stopped, he fell to his knees from the momentum shift and heard a deep breathing. He looked up and saw a set of incredibly large steel-barred gates with a tag on it that had the kanji for "Seal" written on it.**

"How the heck can that little slip of paper hold those bars shut?!" Applejack asked.

 **"Wait a minute…" he murmured as he stood to his feet and kept his gaze on the seal tag. "This place is-"**

 **He was interrupted by a crimson orb with a black slit in the middle of it appearing out of the darkness behind the gate followed by a second one. The breathing he heard before grew louder as the eyes seemed to come closer. When they got close to the gates, the furred face of a towering fox was seen, with the body following soon after.**

"Knew it..." Kushina muttered, as the previous host of the fox, she wasn't all that pleased at seeing this. Sure, Kurama got better...but he was still unpleasant right now, so she wasn't looking forward to this.

 **The fur was a deep orange while its ears seemed longer than normal foxes. Its eyes and lips were outlined in pitch black fur, enhancing the gleaming white teeth and blood colored eyes. Its upper torso looked human in shape with its forepaws having opposable claws that acted like thumbs. To finish it off, the feeling of malice and anger coming off the fox was palpable and the blonde felt that just breathing it in would affect his thoughts.**

 **"...the seal," the Uzumaki finally finished.**

 **The fox narrowed its eyes at the blonde and lowered its head to get a closer look at him. As soon as the lower part of its jaw was level with the teen's, it spoke. "So, you've come at last… You sure took your time…"**

 **Its voice was deep and almost whispery, making the blonde unconsciously shiver. "Trust me; I wasn't planning on coming at all… I was forced to come here and talk to you…Kyuubi."**

"Wish I'd known his name was Kurama back then...might've helped his grumpy attitude." Naruto said.

 **"I know… I was the one who pulled you into your subconscious. It's time we spoke…face to face."**

"Not gonna end well." Twilight said.

 **"Why do you think I'd want to talk to you? You killed my parents, you attacked Konoha, and the lives of my mother and ancestor were ruined out of fear of your power."**

Rainbow dash stared at Naruto, then felt a grin tug at her lips "Wow...look at you, tearing into him without a scrap of fear. Credit where it's due, Blondie...you got guts!" she said, impressed.

 **The fox's eyes narrowed at the blonde's words. "You speak as if I personally did all of those things. True, I did kill your parents and attacked your pathetic village, but I didn't ruin their lives; the other villagers did out of their own fear.**

"That's sickening." Celestia said.

"How do you think the lives of anyone who had to deal with that felt? Most went insane." Naruto shuddered.

 **And besides…what makes you think I just up and decided to attack your village? Better yet, how do you think I was removed from your mother in the first place?"**

At the mention of that, both Minato's and Naruto's eyes blazed.

 **Naruto grit his teeth in frustration at the fox's questions. "How the hell should I know? What if you're just lying to make me trust you?!"**

"Good point..." Pinkie said.

 **The Kyuubi roared at him, the wind being pushed against him by its force, and yelled, "I couldn't care less if I have your trust or not, you foolish whelp! I am merely telling you that things are not as they may seem!" The fox then calmed itself and continued, "Your mother and Mito wouldn't have removed me on their own unless they had no other option. Mito was the only one who did when she transferred my power to you. As for Kushina… My freedom from her was more…forceful."**

Minato, Kushina and Naruto all winced.

 **Blue eyes narrowed at that. "What do you mean by more 'forceful'?"**

 **"Another time… Perhaps when you're away from outside distractions like your teacher trying to get your attention."**

Naruto glared at his sensei.

"How was my other supposed to know?!" Kakashi yelped, seeing Naruto's expression.

 **"What are you-?"**

 **His question was interrupted as he was forced back into the focus of the 'real' world and saw that Lee was being pulled out on a stretch while his left leg and arm looked crushed and covered in blood. Gaara looked banged up as well, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Lee.**

Everyone winced.

 **'What the hell did I miss?' thought the blonde in shock.**

 **[You weren't paying attention?]**

 **'No… My mind was…elsewhere at the moment.'**

"Understatement..." Kushina muttered. She always did hate that, spacing out because the fox wanted to talk. It was annoying when she had to be caught up on things.

 **[Well, Lee wasn't able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu since his chakra network is apparently too messed up to fix. So, he focused on taijutsu and was actually pushing Gaara back; he even landed a clean punch on the guy! But then Gaara was revealed to have – not only an automatic defense of shifting sand – but a skin-level layer of sand armor that absorbed many of Lee's attacks.]**

 **'So, how did Lee do all of that damage to Gaara?'**

 **[He opened something called the Celestial Gates… I didn't get the details, but I saw that it increased his physical ability WAY above the peak level and his skin even turned red! He then moved so fast that I was barely able to see them clearly and went for a finishing blow. But…]**

 **'But it ended up not being enough to win and Lee was open for a counterattack that crushed his leg and arm…' finished the blonde.**

 **[Yea…]**

Guy and Lee both hugged one another and would've started ranting if they could still talk.

"How long is that trick you did gonna keep those two completely mute?" Kakashi asked Chrysalis.

"For as long as we're stuck here...unless someone gives either of them the book so they'd have to read." the insect/equestrian-hybrid said with a shrug.

Kakashi looked shocked at that, feeling like falling to his knees and thanking God.

Naruto, seeing that, had to try very hard not to snicker and keep a straight face. _'That's it,_ _folks. That's it...just keep on stockpiling reasons to destroy that damned book!'_ he thought, delighted. It was humiliating having people read his thoughts out loud like this! Sure he knew it was an alternate version of himself, but still, that didn't make it any less mortifying. Besides, if he were honest, he **_LIKED_** things this way! His parents were summoned her and brought back to life here in this pocket dimension, there was plenty of food, a good place to sleep, his friends were here, and he was able to make new friends out of the Equestrians, too. If the book being finished meant loosing all this, he wanted that thing destroyed! Sure it would mean being trapped here forever, and sure it was selfish, but compared to how happy he was with things being this way, he just didn't care!

 **"Naruto, are you there?" asked Kakashi as he waved his hand in front of the blonde's face. When Naruto grabbed it to make him stop, Kakashi said, "I've been trying to get your attention for about three minutes. You're up next."**

"Finally!" Naruto and Rainbow dash cheered.

 **The Uzumaki looked down to the arena floor and saw that his opponent was the blonde kunoichi from the Suna Team. She had a look of impatience on her face and he quickly jumped over the railing down to the floor.**

"So me against Temari..." Naruto said, then grinned at Shikamaru from over Sunset's shoulder, a too-perfect bit of teasing coming to his mind. Sure it was bad, but he couldn't help it! "Shikamaru...If the other me wails on your girlfriend, will we still be friends?" he asked.

"WHAT?!" the Nara cried, going red in the face as the others all laughed.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Shikamaru cried.

"Then why are you so defensive about this?" Rainbow dash snickered.

From the look Shikamaru gave him, Naruto knew he'd be paying for this later, but this was so worth it!

 **Anko smirked at him and asked, "Was the last match really that amazing that you were left speechless, gaki?"**

"For the record, my alternate may have missed it, but I saw thew fight in my own world, and the match was amazing." Naruto said.

 **Naruto just gave her a slightly annoyed look, but she took it in stride and just grinned at him. "Can we just start the match now, Anko-san?"**

"Yeah...the fox made there be enough of a hold up, start already!" Rainbow dash said.

 **"Yea yea,**

"Whoever wrote this sure liked the term "yea", didn't they?" Luna asked, to which Celestia nodded

 **keep your pants on, Blondie. The seventh match will now begin!"**

 **As soon as she jumped away from them, the two blondes moved away from one another and Naruto pulled out a kunai and seal tag while Temari removed the large item from her back. She opened it slightly, revealing that it was a very large fan, and swung it at him.**

"A fan?! So she's trying to beat him with wind power? Oh please...as if I'd let that happen!" Rainbow dash said rolling her eyes.

"True. But what if he doesn't need you to expose yourself?" Fluttershy said.

Rainbow dash shrugged "Then all the better, helps prove further that Blondie's tough." she said.

Minato, Kushina, and Naruto grinned at that.

 **The effect of the swing was an instant release of a galling wind that forced the Uzumaki to brace himself to stay up. As he braced himself, he wrapped the seal around his kunai and activated it, making chakra surround it and stretch past the knife blade to the length of a ninjato. He took a few practice swings with it before he held it in a reverse grip and stood with his knees bent and his blade behind his back in his right hand. In his left was another seal tag, which made Temari narrow her eyes.**

 **'So, he specializes in fuinjutsu… This could be a problem since I have no idea what these seals will do unless he activates them.'**

"Which you never WANT to happen if you're the one facing someone that specializes in fuinjutsu to do!" Kushina informed happily.

At that, the mares winced as they grasped the implications. The psychological effect of facing seal-users was just as nasty as the seals themselves! How could you do anything once that level of paranoia got you?

 **She decided to force the Konoha blonde to stay a good distance with her fan pushing him back whenever he got close. So, she just had to wait for him to make a move.**

"She thinks that like she'll be able to pin him down...guy needs to stay in constant motion as Pinkie." Twilight giggled. Getting Pinkie to stop moving was impossible.

 **Naruto pumped chakra into his legs and rushed at Temari in hopes of reaching her before she swinger her fan. The two stood a distance of forty-five feet away from each other and his speed easily covered twenty-five feet before she made to swing at him. His eyes narrowed as he dropped the seal tag in his hand and jumped to the side to avoid the blast of wind.**

"Sure...blow the seals around so they can help pin you down!" Kushina said.

 **He was crouched on one knee after his dodge while he saw the seal tag he dropped light up faintly. He then thought over his opponent's attack as she stood and waited for him to move. 'It looks like her fan only pushes the wind in one direction…**

"I so wish..." Tenten muttered, recalling how Temari had caught her in a cyclone.

 **I can use that to my advantage.'**

 **With a plan slowly forming in his mind, he held his hands in a cross seal and summoned forth twenty clones while he used the smoke created by their appearance to quickly make a new seal tag. As the clones rushed at the Suna blonde, he had finished the tag and placed it on one of his rushing clones.**

"This is gonna be awe~some!" Rainbow dash grinned.

 **Temari opened her fan up to its second 'star' and swung at the clones, sending forth a gale of wind that had small wind blades mixed in with it. The clones hit by the blades of wind were instantly dispelled while the others used chakra to stick their feet to the ground and kept advancing. The Suna kunoichi's eyes narrowed as she jumped back and swung her fan downward, sending wind crashing downward on the clones while she rode on top of her fan and glided over them toward the one she assumed was the original.**

"Assumption...that'll get you killed in the field." Tsunade said, shaking her head. She'd seen that plenty of times.

 **Naruto's clones were forced down by the downward wind, but one was able to reach the seal tag that the original had dropped around the beginning of the match. He stuck the seal to his palm and pointed the writing at Temari with the kanji giving a bright green glow.**

"Hit the dirt!" Kushina cackled. This was a good display of why the Uzumaki's skill with fūinjutsu earned them both respect and fear throughout the ninja world to the point where some of the world's nations banded together to destroy Uzushiogakure, believing the village was too powerful to be allowed to continue!

 **"Temari, behind you!" called out Kankuro, making said kunoichi turn to look behind her just in time to see her own technique being fired at her from a seal tag.**

"Nice!" Chrysalis said, nodding. She loved stuff like this! make your enemies too freaked out to trust their own actions! HA! Naruto was _GOOD!_

 **She maneuvered herself in midair to have the flat side of her open fan take the brunt of the attack, but this forced her to leave her form exposed on the other side.**

"Break out the butter and jam...she's toast!" Pinkie cheered on Naruto's other.

 **As a result, the clone that the original placed a seal on before jumped toward her while the original held up a half ram seal. "Fuinjutsu: Bakahatsu Fuiin (Sealing Art: Explosion Seal)!"**

"HELLO!" Kiba said, if this was what a seal that made a chakra-absorbing paper bomb was like, Gaara's sister was gonna be EXTRA crispy seeing as who she was fighting!

 **The seal tag shined a fierce red before it exploded and pushed Temari back with its force. She tumbled a little while her fan flew out of her hands.**

"And now she's disarmed!" Tenten said gleefully. Sure it was an alternate Temari, but she was glad to see her rival from Sauna getting beaten!

 **As she struggled to stand, Naruto had a chain poke out of his right wrist before he moved at full chakra-enhanced speed and began to circle the kunoichi, unknowingly doing the same thing Lee did to Gaara in their fight.**

"The Adamantine Sealing Chains the Uzumaki made of their own chakra..." Kushina grinned, she loved seeing those things at work. This was gonna be great!

 **She was finally able to stand back to her feet and braced herself for any attack on her person, but Naruto wasn't known as unpredictable for no reason. As soon as he saw she was up, he had the chain stab itself into the ground and 'uncoil' as he moved around Temari repeatedly. With each run around her, the chain fell around her in a circle, but she was more focused on waiting for him to strike her.**

"Bad move, Temari." Twilight said as she shook her head.

 **Because of this, she was unprepared for Naruto to suddenly have the chain stop 'uncoiling', which forced it to pull tight against her form and hold her in place.**

 **He pulled his arm back forcefully, making the chain squeeze her slightly and causing her to groan in pain. "Give up," he ordered as he held up another seal tag. "This seal is meant to send an electrical current into whatever it's touching, and I'm sure you realize how conductive this chain is…" Temari glared fiercely at him as he repeated, "Give up… Unless you prefer that I shock you into unconsciousness?"**

"And Naruto for the win!" Pinkie cheered happily as the rest of the mares nodded. This made up for Sasuke advancing!

 **The Suna kunoichi kept glaring at him and he slowly moved the seal tag next to the chain before she relented. "Alright, you win! I give up…"**

 **Anko grinned at the Uzumaki for his unique way of fighting as she called out, "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"**

"Darling...you're brilliant at improvising, just pointing that out for the record." Sunset told Naruto, twisting around in his lap and hugging him.

 **Naruto nodded and flexed his wrist, making the chain quickly 'coil' back into his arm. The fact that the chain went inside of his arm shocked many of the shinobi present, especially Kakashi and Sarutobi,**

"Heheh...I love shocking people with what I do!" Naruto chirped happily.

 **but Naruto ignored their looks in favor of returning to the stands.**

 **He paid no attention to the last fight between Yamanaka Ino and Akado Yoroi and mentally conversed with his pegasus friend. 'So, how did I do?'**

 **[Not bad at all, Blondie… I'm impressed with how quick you can think up plans on the fly. That could save your life one day.]**

 **'Thanks… But, I need more training… I can't always rely on my seals, clones, and chains. I need more variety in my skills.'**

"Always did hate that NONE of my teachers ever helped with that part of my development...!" Naruto growled.

 **[We'll go back to Ponyville after these Preliminaries are over. Maybe Celestia or Luna could come up with something.]**

"Of course!" both sisters said at that.

 **'Yea… Maybe…'**

 **"The winner is Yamanaka Ino due to Yoroi forfeiting the fight!"**

"Wait...how come I get skipped?!" Ino demanded.

 **Naruto refocused on the now finished fight and saw 'Yoroi' make a seal while a seemingly unresponsive Ino suddenly perked up and cried out in victory. 'She must've used her clan's mind related jutsu to win.**

"Oh..." Ino said.

 **Not a bad strategy, but it won't always work for her.'**

Ino winced. "Don't gotta tell me..." she muttered, rubbing her arm.

 **The Genin who won were then called down to pick a number, which would then tell them where they stood in the finals of the Chunin Exams.**

 **The resulting numbers and fights ended up being:**

 **Aburame Shino (#1) vs. Abumi Zaku (#2)**

"Up for getting back for Choji for me?" Shikamaru asked the insect-tamer.

Shino nodded.

 **Yamanaka Ino (#3) vs. Subaku no Kankuro (#4)**

"Other me's in trouble...jutsu's useless against puppets." Ino muttered.

 **Nara Shikamaru (#5) vs. Uchiha Sasuke (#6)**

Seeing the "You BETTER win!" glared the Mares sent his way, Shikamaru gulped.

 **Kinuta Dosu (#7) vs. Hyuuga Hinata (#8)**

 **Subaku no Gaara (#9) vs. Uzumaki Naruto (#10)**

 **Many of the Genin looked to Naruto in slight worry when they saw who his opponent was,**

"NO KIDDING!" everyone cried.

 **but the blonde merely turned to his redheaded future opponent and the two narrowed their eyes at one another.**

 **'No question about it; I need more training if I'm going to face him,' thought Naruto as the Genin were excused from the Central Tower and escorted out of the Forest of Death.**

 **After a month of last minute training, they would meet back at Konoha Stadium for the Chunin Exam Finals.**

"And that'sit for this chapter." Celestia said.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll read next." Naruto said, and would've reached for the book, but Sunset Shimmer tightened her grip on his hands and forced his arm down.

"No offense, Darling. But I don't think trusting you with the book would be a good idea. You've been against it from the start and would most likely try finding a way to destroy it the second it was in your hands." Sunset Shimmer pointed out.

Everyone looked at him and he muttered a curse under his breath. Shimmer had him pegged and everybody knew it!

"Oh...here." Chrysalis said, snatching the book, " _I'll_ read."

 **Chapter 5: A Month to Prepare**

 **Naruto sighed as he sat atop the head of the Yondaime Hokage of the Hokage Mountain. So much had been revealed to him throughout the first two parts of this exam and it was making his head spin.**

Naruto looked at his father, "That was true about when I first learned that."

Minato nodded.

 **His father – the Yondaime Hokage and Kiiroi Senko of Konoha – was the one who placed the Kyuubi inside of him. It hurt to accept that; it really did. From what he had witnessed, fathers put their family before everything.**

"You didn't really have a choice!" Naruto snapped defensively. Sure he'd felt the same when he'd first learned his dad was the one who sealed the fox in him, but considering how dangerous Obito was, there wasn't a safer option! With that guy's abilities, anything like an inanimate object was no different than if he'd been able to keep Kurama under his control!

 **However, his father didn't. His father put the village before family and it angered him to the core. He was an Uzumaki by his mother and he took the creed to heart. His father – while not an Uzumaki – broke that creed in his eyes and he felt betrayed.**

"You ever had to do something unforgivable because there was no other "right" choice, but it still haunted you and you felt horrible for it?" Minato muttered.

At that, Celestia winced. "So that was your situation, then?" she said, she'd been in a similar situation when Luna had transformed into Nightmare Moon and she'd had to seal her sister in the moon a thousand years ago! She hadn't stopped feeling guilty about that until she and her sister had made amends after the Mane Six had turned her back to normal!

 **His fists clenched to stave off the building rage towards the Yondaime and Konoha.**

 **Beside him, Dash gazed at her blonde friend sadly. He was constantly betrayed and let down by those who he should've been able to trust. She desperately wanted to help him, but she didn't know how.**

"I can't even begin to tell you how much I'd hate that!" Rainbow dash said, making a face. Wanting to help someone she was close to, but not knowing how to do it? That kind of helplessness was sickening to the core for her, especially given how her Element of Harmony was loyalty!

 **In her eyes, his anger was justified and couldn't be swayed.**

 **Still, she decided to do something for him and engulfed her from in a swirl of color.**

"What're you up to?" Minato asked.

 **This brought Naruto out of his thoughts and he looked on curiously, wondering what she was doing. When the swirling colors faded, he was left agape at what he was seeing.**

 **Dash had transformed herself into a human with slightly pale blue skin and rainbow color hair that draped over her left shoulder and frizzed at the ends. She was dressed in a black shirt with her Cutie Mark portrayed on the front, dark blue cargo pants, and black kunoichi sandals. Around her neck was a pendant of a bright blue pegasus and her right middle finger had a ring with the Uzumaki Swirl on it.**

At the mention of the familiar outfit, Rainbow dash looked down and blushed. Rather than the outfit that had just been described like she expected, she was wearing her pajamas!

"Uh...guys? We're all still dressed in sleepwear!" she cried.

Everyone froze and looked down and their faces all suddenly burned red hot.

"Wha...How could we have overlooked _this_?!" Rarity cried in shock.

"Well, with the way things went with Naruto reacting to Sunset as his roommate, it slipped our minds." Celestia said, still blushing.

"NARUTO, YOU IDIOT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Sakura shouted.

At that, both Minato and Kushina stood, but Sunset Shimmer got there first.

Grabbing the medic by the front oh her pajamas (which were covered in hearts that had Sasuke's face in the middle of them) Celestia's ex-student jerked the girl forward so that the two were nose to nose and Sakura found herself looking right into Sunset's blazing eyes.

"You know...for the record, I really do hate acting like the old me, but the way you're overreacting and accusing him like that is making it really hard not to have a relapse! He was put to sleep in the middle of the last chapter, then the next thing he knows when he wakes up is that he's sharing a room with someone, someone moreover is the opposite gender no less, that he's only JUST met and barely knows, and both are in noting but sleepwear on top of it all! His freaking out was nothing but a natural reaction to the situation he found himself in! Besides, him being Gynophobic is **_YOUR_** ** _FAULT_** ** _!_** " the mare snapped furiously, then roughly shoved Sakura away so hard, she sent the Haruno heels-over-head, then land unceremoniously on her butt.

"ENOUGH!" Twilight shouted, punctuating her shout by her horn glowing and everyone was suddenly covered in a light pink aura and they couldn't move.

"Look, we're all embarrassed and it's making tempers flare, I get that. But how about instead of wasting time getting at one another's throats, we all just relax, head back to our rooms and change, then get back to the book and we all agree this little incident just now never happened?" Twilight said in a tight, frustrated tone through gritted teeth.

Everyone voiced that they agreed with that and Twilight released them from her magic and they went to their rooms.

"Here," Naruto said once they'd gotten to the door and opened it for her.

"Thank you, Darling, you're a fine gentleman," the redhead acknowledged, then walked past him and into the suite.

"Even with my being Gyno-whatever?" Naruto asked.

"Gynophobic," Sunset corrected, "it's just a fancy way of saying you're scared of girls and women, is all." The yellow-highlighted redhead told him.

Naruto went red. "Scared of...? No, no, no, no, no I can't...I mean I like girls...Gah! I'm sorry I didn't wanna make it sound like!...Oh man! Sorry I reacted so bad..." Naruto said, following her into their shared room. "And the way you stood up for me just now...thanks." he said.

"Meh...I said I'd take full responsibility for us being roommates. Besides, like I said: You freaking out was a natural reaction to waking up all of a sudden with someone you barely knew. It's actually reassuring you freaked out about it like that, otherwise, what's a girl supposed to think?" Sunset said.

At that, Naruto immediately had the very unwelcome thought of if Jiraiya had been in the position and scenario he'd woken up to find himself in, as well as the consequences from there. "Nothing good." he admitted.

"Exactly, you're not the type to make a girl or lady need to have to worry about those sort of things. Sakura just tried to force you to change into something you weren't for whatever reasons she thought she had just to please herself." the light amber-hued girl reassured from the closet area, then her voice turned thoughtful "Huh...well, that's reassuring, separate closets."

At hearing that, Naruto sighed in relief.

"Darling, could you do me a favor and check the bathroom? Want to make sure there's more than a single toilet." Sunset said, she was obviously getting dressed, otherwise she would've .

"Ok...but can I point out that request makes me feel reeeeaaaallly awkward, even without being called "darling" on top of it all?" Naruto said, red-faced and awkward.

"...Oh...uh...right, sorry. My bad, gotta get used to having a roommate. Sheesh, it almost feel-"

"Uht, uht, uht! Can we PLEASE not go there?" Naruto asked, cutting her off. Last thing he needed to hear was the phrase "feels like we'er married" coming from his _**FEMALE**_ roommate!

"...Right..." Sunset said awkwardly as how that would have sounded if her roommate hadn't cut her off struck her, and while Naruto couldn't see her, he was pretty sure she was blushing. That was a can of worms she didn't want to go near...and she would've blown it wide open if the Uzumaki hadn't stopped her!

A few hours later, the Konoha Jinchuriki was wearing a short, open, sleeveless, black Arabian-style vest over a vanilla-colored, long-sleeved shirt, burnt orange gloves, red-brown jeans and boots, and a red and yellow belt.

Sunset had gone with a purple T-shirt, grey urban cammo fatigues, lace-up hiking boots, and the black leather jacket she'd worn before when she'd first arrived in the artificially-generated dimension.

"Nice outfit, but something tells me that's not you usual style. What gives?" Sunset asked.

"Rarity." the blond responded.

Sunset laughed. She should've known! Rarity wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he wasn't dressed sharply! Then she noticed the gloves and long-sleeved shirt. Seemed a bit much, then again, from what she'd seen, Naruto had kept his right arm wrapped in bandages all the way to his fingers.

Naruto shifted a bit. Sure Rarity's nature as a literal clotheshorse (no pun or offence intended) made a convenient excuse, the fact was that from the elbow down on his right forearm, his tan complexion turned an immediate, complete white and the only thing separating the two skin tones was a dark scar stretching entirely around the limb. The replacement arm that had been created for him after his final clash with Sasuke, and he still needed to get use to the limb. While the "White Zetsu arm" was fully _attached_ , it needed some time to get better synchronized with his nerves. That resulted in seemingly possessed spastic fits from it at random moments.

Not to mention, since it was still a bit unruly as far as the keirakukei and the tenketsu nodes went, he couldn't form hand signs or channel chakra through his new arm without a giant tree shooting from it and trying to take root in the ground. Come to think of it...how that hadn't happened when he'd cast the space-time jutsu that had helped create this place was something of which Naruto didn't understand, but for which he was grateful. Otherwise, the tree taking root would've caused him being transported here to tear his arm off!

Besides, he was self-conscious about the organic, flora/fauna-hybrid prosthetic limb.

"Tell you later. It's just...touchy subject." he said.

His roommate nodded. Fair enough. He could tell her when he was ready.

With that, they exited back to the main room, only to find Kushina smiling and clearly waiting for them. Once she saw Naruto, she smiled and held out something that was folded in her arms.

It was a teal-and-cyan striped scarf with thread tassel endings. It was hand-knit, but the work had obviously had a _**LOT**_ of time, effort, and care put into it so that it was absolutely perfect. So much so, that it was impossible to tell it was done that way.

"Made this for you back when I learned I was...you know...expecting. Always meant to give it to you personally, but...you know...found it in my room, Sunset's magic modifications to this place must have transported it here." The redheaded mother said tenderly.

Naruto stared at the scarf with sheer awe and reverence while Kushina beamed joyfully as she wrapped it around her son's neck—where the patterned length of fabric belonged, and tied it into a tight knot in the front so it couldn't come off.

Stepping back to see it, Kushina was suddenly lying on her back as Naruto literally tackled her in a hug, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. Kushina blinked, then slowly wrapped her arms around her son, pressing him closer and running a hand through his hair and down his back. Neither of them saying a word, nor needing to.

Everyone watching all smiled at the scene, not daring to do anything that would ruin the moment.

Seeing the pony-like insectoid monarch licking her chops, Luna held out a hand in front of her and glared.

"Try sucking the tenderness out of this moment, and I kill you!" Luna hissed in a whisper, her voice turning deeper and more mature for a second as she warned the shapeshifter.

Chrysalis gulped, and nodded. She wasn't stupid. She was well aware of what Luna's voice changing like that meant, and the Changeling Queen had NO desire to draw Luna so deep into her wrath that Chrysalis would be dealing with a vengeful Nightmare Moon making an appearance just to strangle her to death!

Naruto eventually let go of his mother (with obvious reluctance) and stood up, Kushina doing likewise.

Smiling and feeling their hearts much lighter, the reading group all resumed their former positions (Hinata scowling with a glare as Sunset yet again deemed Naruto's lap to be her spot) and resumed giving the story their attention.

 **"D-Dash…?" Naruto stammered out in total shock.**

 **The transformed pony smirked at him and leaned on her left leg while her arms crossed underneath her impressive bust. If Naruto were the perverted type, he would've noticed that they were high C-Cup.**

"...Not. A. Word..." Rainbow dash said tightly, face red so badly she wasn't sure any blood at all was being sent to the rest of her body.

 **"Well Blondie, what do ya think?" asked Dash as her smirk turned to a grin.**

 **"You… I thought… Why did…" he stumbled over his words as his mind tried to process everything. If he was honest with himself, Dash looked incredibly beautiful**

At that, Hinata FINALLY turned her attention away from Sunset Shimmer and rounded her glare to be aimed full-force at Rainbow dash.

 **and it took a lot of his willpower to hold down the blush that tried to show.**

Naruto went as red in the face as Rainbow dash.

 **She laughed at his inability to form a sentence before she engulfed him in a comforting embrace. While she held him close in hopes of helping him calm down, the blush Naruto tried so desperately to hold down burned furiously on his face.**

 **"Don't worry… No matter what happens, you still have me and the others to help you. We'll stand by you to the end, Naruto-kun," she reassured him, unaware of the added suffix she placed on his name.**

Rainbow dash gulped, while she didn't get what was the big deal with that suffix, she remembered that the other Sakura in the book had always added it to the King of Jerks' name.

 **Slowly, Naruto's arms rose up and wrapped around her back and hugged her. "Thank you," he murmured gratefully.**

 **The two stayed like that for some time, unaware that they were being watched**

"OH, COME ON!" Naruto and Rainbow dash both shouted, mortified.

 **by the Sandaime and his old student, Jiraiya the Gama Sennin.**

"Being spied on by a pair of old men while the two of them are having a tender moment...that's not creepy at all." Ino said sarcastically.

 **Jiraiya was in truth the godfather of the blonde,**

 _"WHAT?!"_ the mares all cried in shock and a bit of outrage. Godfather?! Then just where had he BEEN all Naruto's life?!

 **but he was unable to be there for Naruto due to his duties as spymaster of Konoha.**

At that, Naruto let out a fake-sounding cough into his fist that sounded suspiciously like the words "lying pervert". Jiraiya's priorities were women, booze, and money. He loathed the sheer concept of responsibility! Sannin...yeah right! Jiraiya was just what Kisame Hoshigaki had described him as when the Akatsuki had almost dismembered and captured him while Jiraiya was out flirting: a lecherous old man with the disposition of a child!

 **That didn't mean that Jiraiya had no wish to see the Uzumaki. Jiraiya was hoping to take the kid as his apprentice of the Gama Arts, but it looked like he already had a Summon Clan that took an interest in him; in more ways than one for the one currently hugging the teen.**

Naruto groaned. This could _NOT_ be happening! Sure it was another reality, but these Equestrians were honestly great either way. He didn't want them degraded by ending up in those dirty, lumps of chicken-scratch covered rags Jiraiya wrote that passed as "literary genius" by those who weren't capable of treating an actual lady right and had to resort to those _How to Die a Virgin_ manuals to vicariously get a date!

Which begged the question as to Guy's love life against Kakashi's, seeing as Guy hated the sheer sight of Jiraiya's dirty books, while Kakashi regarded the things as his bible.

 **"So, what do you think of him, Jiraiya?" asked Hiruzen as he deactivated his crystal ball.**

 **Jiraiya leaned against one of the office walls with his eyes closed and arms crossed. "Honestly, I think he looks so much like his father that it's scary.**

"Very true...but he's got his mom's face." Rarity said, studying the family of three with a critical eye.

 **Speaking of which, does he know who his father is?"**

"Yes." Naruto said grimly as everyone winced. Poor other Naruto...

 **The Sandaime sighed tiredly at the question. "To be honest with you…I'm not sure. Apparently he and his team had a run-in with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death.**

"An all-around bad one..." Twilight said, getting the other readers to nod grimly.

 **I noticed that he seemed very…different when he and his team made it to the tower. Although, I think that may be due to the fact that he assumed his team would stay and help him instead of leave him to cover their escape.**

"The way they make those teams are assigned and made really needs to be torn up by the roots and redone with a clean slate."

"Well, the academy takes their grades and skill levels as individuals into account so the teams are balanced." Kurenai said.

"Since when are belittlement and abandonment part of being balanced? They should focus on the interactions between the students in real time, on their time, to see who the best and worst ones are at working with one another. Friendship, trust, respect and loyalty between people aren't the sort of things you can determine with a piece of paper and a pencil." the sun princess said pointedly.

Sunset and Twilight both looked sheepish at that, having learned that lesson first-hand.

Tsunade looked at the transformed Alicorn and made a note of that. Between that idea and her old medical ninja requirement idea, the Kage felt she'd have a lot of revisions to to before she actually retired.

 **Naruto also gained the ability his mother was famous for and displayed it during the preliminaries."**

 **Jiraiya raised a brow with a smirk. "Did he now? Well, color me impressed with the kid. And apparently he's skilled with fuinjutsu if what you told me about his match with that Suna girl is anything to go by."**

"Really? He just brushes off the parts that he had a run-in with Orochimaru and how his so-called teammates ditched him to fend for himself against the twisted psycho?! Really?!" Rainbow dash shouted, shocked.

Tsunade groaned and rubbed her temples "Well...at least that aspect of Jiraiya's personality was correct...unfortunately." she said while Naruto nodded. The man could prove a competent ninja when he needed to, but his habit of brushing off anything important like that was annoying as hell!

 **The Sandaime nodded and replied, "Yes, he is. In fact, he told me that he found the old Uzumaki Shrine and spent many hours a day inside reading Mito-sama's journal and the various fuinjutsu scrolls. Apparently, he found it about two years ago and is already skilled enough to be labeled an Adept in the arts."**

Kushina whistled as Minato beamed with pride. Not many shinobi learned fuinjutsu beyond storage, since it was so complicated and it was easy to make a dangerous mistake with the seals, so that was downright amazing!

 **"You're kidding!" Jiraiya exclaimed in surprise. "An Adept in only two years?! It took me almost ten years to get that far!"**

 **"The boy's a natural in the art; even more so than his mother and nearly as good as Mito-sama; although, I wouldn't be surprised if he surpassed her in a few years."**

 **Jiraiya shook his head with a chuckle. "Man… To think he's that fluent in the art… It's honestly scary. Who knows what kinds of seals he'll create in the future?"**

"...Ok, that's dangerously close to the snake-creep's reasoning..." Sunset Shimmer winced.

 **"Who indeed?" Sarutobi asked with a prideful smile as he thought of the young Uzumaki.**

 **[Next Day (Konoha Hospital)]**

"Another timeskip?" Sai questioned.

"Yep...but what are they doing in a hospital?" Twilight asked, studying the projector's image of the scene they were reading.

 **Naruto sat inside the reception area as he waited for Kakashi to finish checking on Sakura.**

"Oh." Twilight said, "I actually forgot about her for a second."

"That's because as long as Sasuke's around, she's more focused on slobbering over him then having any actual drive to improve—thus, she's a forgettable plot device that's there just to fill a slot." Tenten said.

"Why you...!" Sakura snarled.

"What? It's true that until AFTER Sasuke defected, you cared more about your obsession with him then actually improving. Wake up, Sakura—Sasuke was in the way of your getting better." Tenten said.

 **Apparently, Hinata's strike to her was much more than the pinkette was used to and it was taking a while to heal.**

"Wall~flowe~er kicked you~re ass~! "Wall~flowe~er kicked you~re ass~! "Wall~flowe~er kicked you~re ass~! Ahahahaha!" Rainbow dash cheered in a sing-song tone.

Sakura grit her teeth and her hands balled themselves into fists. She was starting to hate horses, winged, horned, or otherwise!

 **Sasuke sat to his right and Naruto was able to finally get a glimpse at the strange marking on his neck. In the blonde's hand was a small notebook and he was drawing a copy of the mark on it as well as the obvious suppressor that surrounded it.**

"Lot of good that suppressor did!" Naruto spat. The useless thing counted on Sasuke's willpower to work? What a joke! Sasuke wanted power and the curse mark gave it to him, what genius thought Sasuke would _want_ the curse mark suppressed?!

 **Dash – still in her transformed state – sat on his left with a look of boredom on her face. She hated hospitals since they held no excitement for her. Sure, they were helpful, but she preferred areas with more excitement and thrills.**

Tsunade looked between Naruto from where he was forced to perch his head on Sunset's shoulder to Rainbow dash and shook her head. The two really were too much alike.

 **After another five minutes, Naruto finished drawing the mark and Kakashi was seen heading their way. He gave them a lazy wave and took note of the girl sitting close to his blonde student. He even noticed that she subtly scooted closer to him protectively.**

"What? I don't trust Sasuke!" Rainbow dash defended.

The other readers with the exception of Sakura all nodded. Made sense to them.

 **'Curious…' he thought before he gave them an eye smile. "Alright boys, let's get started on your training."**

Naruto rolled his eyes. Hypocrite...when he'd turned to Kakashi for training, he'd openly been told Kakashi "had more important things to do" as his way of describing that he was going to be teaching Sasuke!

 **Both of them nodded and began to follow him while Dash walked next to Naruto, much to the suspicion of Sasuke and curiosity of Kakashi. "Who's the girl, dobe?"**

"If there is a God, or even a Devil, give my other the strength to keep from snapping his neck!" Rainbow dash muttered, frustrated. While ponies of Equestria weren't violent, being that close to such a creep and having seen the things he'd done so far, it made the idea of making Sasuke's head face backwards maddeningly tempting!

 **Dash gave a small scowl at the title towards her friend while the blonde replied, "She's a friend who I've known for a little while now. She's curious about shinobi after I told her about what we've gone through."**

 **"Hmph," grunted the Uchiha. "If she's so curious, then she should've asked someone with more experience like me."**

"Experienced at what? Putting on airs but running away with your tail between your legs when the going gets tough, you gutless prick?!" Rainbow dash snapped.

 **"Oh sure," began Dash in an exaggerated tone. "I'd love to hear more about ditching your teammate and leaving him to fight a white snake in a deadly forest."**

"You tell him, sister!" Rainbow dash and her friends all cheered at seeing the cyan flyer's alternate self call him out on that.

 **Sasuke scowled at her while Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly at her words. "Just how much did Naruto tell you, miss…?"**

 **"Dash," replied the transformed pony. "My name is Dash and Naruto-kun told me all about his career so far. He told me about his acceptance as a Genin, his mission to Nami no Kuni, and the first two parts of the Chunin Exams."**

"Can't argue that, especially since the other Rainbow dash was there for the exams." Applejack said.

Kakashi flinched.

 **Kakashi then turned to Naruto. "Does she know about your personal experiences as well, Naruto?"**

 **The blonde nodded with a serious face. "Yes she, her friends, and their bosses know and they can be trusted. They were friends of my mother's side of my family."**

"A cannonball going up his nose would've done a much more subtle job at blowing his mind, don't you think?" Chrysalis snickered, grinning at Naruto. "Nice bomb-drop, kiddo!"

"Laugh it up..." Kakashi muttered.

 **Kakashi's lone eye widened in surprise while Sasuke just walked on with a disinterested face. He looked to Dash and she just grinned at him. "I see… Well, I'm glad you found some people to bond with Naruto."**

 **"Yea… Which reminds me; they promised to help me with the month training Kakashi-sensei."**

 **"How can they help you when they don't know of the shinobi arts, dobe?" questioned the Uchiha.**

"Can the other me shatter his jaw into a billion pieces?! Please?!" Rainbow dash groaned.

 **"Just because we don't know your flashy jutsu doesn't mean we can't help in other aspects," Dash defended, poking Sasuke in his chest.**

"Very true." Kurenai said, getting nods all around.

 **"Is that so?" asked Kakashi before things could escalate.**

"Good call, Sasuke's already good at bringing out a bad side of those from Equestria, and a fight inside a _hospital_ of all places..." Luna shook her head.

Tsunade nodded, she agreed that cutting this off before it escalated to a fight in a place of healing was for the best. Rainbow dash's counterpart in the story was already furious with the self-appointed "avenger", and it didn't help that Sasuke's way of dealing with others was to be antagonizing just because he felt anyone with a last name that wasn't "Uchiha" was already beneath him simply because he was alive.

 **"Well then, I suppose there isn't any harm in letting them help you, Naruto. But, I want to figure something out before you go; just so I could still train you some other time."**

"Like three years from now?" Naruto asked.

Minato and Kushina glared, making Kakashi gulp. "Hey now, that wasn't my fault. First there was everything that the third part of the exam escalated to, then you were out of the village being trained by Jiraiya, and when you got back, events just kept piling up way too fast to have time to train you."

"True. But you could've made a shadow clone to instruct me for the third part of the exams rather than just passing me around to other teachers like I was just some unwanted piece of luggage. How long would it take a Jonin of your level to just cross your fingers?" Naruto said reasonably.

Kakashi paled under his mask as the others in the group all turned to him expectantly for a reasonable answer. Crap! He had accepted he wasn't the best teacher back when Sasuke had been trying to kill him and Sakura in the Land of Iron, but he never would've expected his past mistakes to take a bite out of his butt like this!

"Well, Kakashi?" Minato said sternly as though Kakashi were still a Genin, "Why was that?"

Smirking, Chrysalis' eyes gleamed and sent a clear message of "You owe me for this and I'll be sure to collect on your debt to me later!" as she looked at the masked man before she started reading again, getting everyone to turn their attention back to the images from the projector as she did.

Kakashi mentally sighed in relief, even though he now had a sinking feeling in his gut like he'd been suckered into a deal with the devil.

 **He then pulled out two sheets of blank paper and made a clone that led Sasuke away. The clone took one of the sheets and left with the Uchiha**

At seeing Kakashi's alternate do what Naruto had said the actual him could have and make a cone to serve as an instructor, everyone narrowed their eyes at the man. If his other self could do that with Sasuke's counterpart, why hadn't the original Kakashi done the same for Naruto?

 **while the original gave Naruto the other one.**

"Ah...affinity test." Naruto said.

 **"What's this?" asked the Uzumaki.**

 **Kakashi eye-smiled and answered, "This is called Chakra Paper. It allows you to see what affinities you have in terms of Chakra Nature."**

 **"So… How does it work?"**

"Do tell." Twilight said.

 **The Jonin gestured to the paper and replied, "Just pour some of your chakra into it. The paper will handle the rest."**

 **The Uzumaki complied and let some of his chakra into the paper. The result left the three surprised.**

 **"No way…" Dash whispered.**

 **"B-But how…?" stammered the sensei.**

 **The blonde meanwhile gained misty eyes as he looked down at the paper. The only thing he muttered was, "Haku…"**

"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, surprised.

 **[Konoha Hot Springs (One Hour Later)]**

"And thus, the other me meets the Prevy Sage..." Naruto said in annoyance.

"The what sage?" Celestia asked.

Naruto sighed. "Trust me, Princess Celestia...you don't wanna know and'll regret asking."

 **A whiskered blonde sighed as he relaxed in the soothing waters of the hot springs.**

"That does sound good." Rarity observed.

 **Dash told him to get some rest while she left to prepare for his arrival at Ponyville. He decided to take a dip to rest his weary limbs since he hadn't been to the springs in a few weeks and the exams took quite a bit out of him so far.**

 **He was brought out of his relaxation by the sound of a man giggling like a little schoolgirl. He turned and frowned at the sight of a white-haired man sitting atop a large toad and peeping through the wall that separated the men's side from the women's.**

At that, Chrysalis lowered the book, face kept carefully blank as everyone went absolutely quiet.

 _'Three...two...one...'_ Naruto mentally sighed, stuffing his fingers in his ears as deep as they'd go.

A second after he thought that, the entire dimension suddenly erupted in outraged and disgusted shouts from all the females present, making the space feel like bombs being dropped and going off inside an echo chamber.

Five hours later, according to the clock on the wall, the ladies present all finally stopped yelling and calmed down.

"Naruto...you were correct: I shouldn't have asked and hate that I know the answer to my question earlier." Celestia said tightly.

"...WHAT?!..." Naruto cried, his ears ringing.

The sun princess blinked, then slapped a hand to her forehead and dragged it down her face. A second later, her horn glowed like sunlight and everyone's hearing damage was healed.

"Sorry..." she muttered on behalf of herself and the other females present.

"No need...spent the better part of three years either foiling that bozo's peeping myself, or having to outrun mobs and fight off outraged women when he used me as a fall guy. I get it." Naruto said, just glad his ears worked again.

Sunset stared at Naruto in shock, then glared at Sakura. There wasn't fire in her eyes...there were volcanic eruptions!

"You...for three...AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A WOMAN?!" she shouted. "You turned Darling so Gynophobic that he had to be exposed to this revolting codger's influence for three years to try and have him be taught why men like women according to this guy's definitions?!"

Sakura gulped. Ho...she was in trouble, now! **BIG** trouble! If the other ladies all thought _that_ was the point of Naruto's apprenticeship under the Toad Sage, she was already in her grave! Damn you, Sunset Shimmer! Sakura HAD to turn this around!

"That wasn't why! He spent three years as Jiraiya's apprentice to grow stronger!" Sakura cried.

"All I got were refined basics and a few Rasengan variants on account of having to deal with the man's antics. Like I said, spent the better part of three years either foiling that bozo's peeping myself, or having to outrun mobs and fight off outraged women when he used me as a fall guy for when he was caught." Naruto shrugged.

He also had to keep inventing jutsu that more and more lewd to get Jiraiya to actually focus on training him, but for the sake of sheer self-preservation, he wasn't going to admit that...especially around his mother!

Sakura felt her heart stop beating and turn to a rock in her chest as all the other females glared at her with sheer murder in their eyes.

Chrysalis glared darkly at the Haruno before getting back to reading.

 **"Great… A perverted Peeping Tom," muttered the Jinchuriki distastefully before he got out and dressed himself.**

"Naruto Uzumaki! Don't you dare just walk away and let him keep peeping!" Kushina scolded.

 **Once he was fully clothed, he approached the man from behind and stuck a seal tag on him under the guise of patting his back.**

"I like where this is going." Luna said, starting to grin.

"Ok, am I the only one hoping the answer to this is a 'yes', because this has gotta be asked: can we keep him?" Sunset asked, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at Naruto.

"No. You may not." Tsunade said.

 **"You know, you must be pretty low to deliberately peep on women in your refined age, old man…"**

Tsunade smirked "You have no idea, yet." she said.

 **The man scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, go away kid. I don't have time to be lectured by someone less than half my age."**

 **Naruto grinned and began to walk away. "Whatever you say, old timer." He then held his hand up in a half ram seal while yelling out, "Hey ladies! You might wanna look out for perverted old men!"**

The females all grinned wickedly.

 **The seal on the man's shoulder lit up and he suddenly felt his chakra flow become erratic while the separating wall was kicked down by a towel-clad Anko with half a dozen kunoichi behind her. Jiraiya tried to leave with a chakra enhanced leap, but his chakra didn't flow right and he just stumbled and fell at her feet.**

At that, Celestia looked to the Fifth Hokage. "Tsunade...about that 'keeping Naruto' bit, Please understand if I say I don't care if we can or not and just snatch him up when the book's over with and take him back to Equestria with us anyway."

The slug-summoner looked at the other female leader, "While the part of me that cares about Naruto is completely against that, the part of me that knows what Jiraiya was like fully understands why you'd do that." the Senju sighed.

 **He paled at her grin. "Well well well… Looks like my birthday came early this year! And I couldn't have asked for a better present; a perv to beat down!" She then looked to the retreating blonde and called out, "Thanks, gaki-kun!"**

Anko rubbed her fists, cracking her knuckles and chuckled almost dementedly at that, making everyone edge away from her fearfully, though the females in the reading group all nodded in approval, nonetheless.

 **Naruto waved without looking back and grinned devilishly as he heard the man's cries for mercy. He laughed out loud as he was engulfed in a sudden plume of smoke and left the area.**

 **[Ponyville]**

 **Within the Princess' Chambers, Naruto arrived in a plume of smoke still laughing at his actions against Jiraiya. "And what happens to be so amusing, young Naruto?" Celestia asked with a kind smile.**

Every one of the ladies snickered.

 **Still snickering, he retold her and Luna about his prank and the two mares chuckled at his antics. "Quite devious, Naruto-san," Luna commented.**

"Devious and brilliant!" Kushina said proudly.

 **"Ne, Luna-hime you don't have to be so formal. We're family, right?" asked the blonde, surprising the two alicorns.**

The collective mares' jaws all dropped.

 **They looked to one another before smiles appeared and they nodded to him. "Yes… I suppose we are, Naruto," stated the darker alicorn.**

At that, Minato and Kushina stood and walked over to Celestia and Luna before they bowed deeply to the two alicorns. "THANK YOU!"

The sisters smiled. "None needed. Naruto's a good boy, it's our pleasure." Luna smiled.

 **Celestia was pleased to hear how sincere Naruto was when he asked if they were family. It reminded her so much of Mito when she asked the very same question. She also could've sworn that she saw a ghostly visage of Mito placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder with a smile full of pride.**

 **"Well, let's start your training," declared the white alicorn before she and her sister led their summoner to the castle courtyard where the other mares waited for them. The Uzumaki smiled to them all and they returned it. Celestia watched and smiled as Naruto approached them and began to talk with them before he turned his attention to Pinkie and the two began laughing after a bit. The princess guessed that Naruto told the pink mare about his prank and wanted to see what Pinkie thought of it.**

"As if he'd need to! He's an evil genius with his prank on that geezer and that enemy of women got what he deserved! I love it!" Pinkie said.

 **Luna smiled as well, proud that her summoner was so close to them. She was sure that Naruto would be like the second coming of Mito; friendly, caring, and a true Uzumaki to the core. She then cleared her throat and got the attention of the blonde and the mares.**

 **"Now then, let's begin your month of training, Naruto. We plan to help you with your chakra control, your affinity training, and finally your beginning steps to learning magic."**

 **"Magic?" queried Naruto.**

Naruto whistled, then looked to the mares "Ok...that sounds cool! Think you could teach me?" he asked.

 **It was Twilight who answered. "That's right. You see, as our summoner you slowly begin forming a connection with magical energy, or mana. It's like chakra, but it's also very different."**

 **"What do you mean?"**

 **"She means, darling,**

Sunset pouted with a huff at that. She was who got to call Naruto 'darling'! Dang it, other Rarity!

 **that it's within you like chakra but it comes out in a different manner," explained Rarity with a smile. "Mana requires a chant spoken in what many believe is the ancient tongue.**

"No it doesn't." Twilight said.

 **For example, a spell to call forth the gift of flight is like so: Exaltavi, da mihi gratiam per nubila portabunt venti ut!"**

"You gotta be kidding...Latin?" Sunset and Twilight asked in unison, looking at each other in confusion before shaking their heads, amused.

"What's that?" Kiba asked.

"Dead language from 27 B.C. to about 1350 or 1500 A.D., people can still learn it, but nobody actively speaks it anymore. Hence, why its referred to as a "dead" language." Twilight said.

"What Rarity's alternate just said translates to 'Exalted One, give me the grace Of the winds so that they may carry me across the skies.'" Sunset explained.

 **To the amazement of the blonde, the white unicorn was surrounded in a bright yellow-green aura that slowly allowed her to levitate off the ground. With a rush of wind, she shot up into the air and circled the courtyard a couple of times before she landed back down and released the aura.**

"That is so...it completely negates the reason for the artificial wing spell!" Twilight said, shocked, and considering how difficult that false wings spell was to cast, a bit miffed as well.

 **"That is an advanced spell," Twilight explained. "You won't learn that for a while."**

 **Naruto couldn't help but pout at that, making the others chuckle. "So, what spell will I learn first?"**

 **"A minor healing spell," Celestia answered. "Your clan was known for their inability to use them due to their higher than average chakra levels. The spell will rectify that."**

 **Naruto grinned and nodded. "Alright, then let's get started!"**

 **"Not so fast there, partner," Applejack interrupted before he could get too excited. "Firstly, we need to get your control up more."**

Naruto grumbled at that. It was ALWAYS his chakra control!

 **"That's why we had the statue from the fountain moved so that you could use it to learn water walking," Luna explained. "However, there is one thing we wish to test."**

 **"Naruto, create a clone and have it follow me please," Celestia asked, and the blonde complied.**

"Oh, heck yes!" Naruto whooped, this already?!

 **After a couple of minutes, he stiffened slightly and called out, "You never even gave me a chance to answer!"**

 **The white alicorn walked back to them with a smile on her face. "And how would you know that, Naruto?"**

 **"Because you just…asked me," he said before it came to him. "I just remembered what my clone experienced."**

"Collective memory feature. Jutsu was originally made for infiltration and reconnaissance." Kakashi said.

 **"Correct," Luna said with a smirk. "It seems as though your clones are able to transmit their experiences to you. Now, what do you think this could mean for your training?"**

 **"I could seriously lower the amount of time needed to train," answered the Uzumaki.**

"Funny how these two helped me learn that trick when you didn't eve tell me about it until after three years of being your student." Naruto told the masked Jonin.

"Must...strangle...Kakashi..." Minato muttered.

 **"That's right. So, make around twenty clones and have them practice water walking while another twenty will master tree walking. Have them dispel one at a time every five minutes so that the other clones could get an idea of how to perform better," Celestia stated.**

"No kidding, one at a time. The sheer information overload from the feedback otherwise was like a truck hit me..." Naruto muttered.

 **Naruto nodded and created the clones while Fluttershy and Dash stepped up to him. "We'll be helping you with your affinities, Naruto-kun," explained the blue pegasus while the yellow one nodded with a smile. "So, create ten clones and we each will take five to work with."**

 **The Uzumaki complied and was then approached by A.J.**

"Really?! Just my _initials?!"_ Applejack said, somewhat annoyed. Sure, she knew her name was long, but that didn't make it less annoying being referred to like that!

 **and Pinkie. "Alright partner, the princesses are sure that, while clones transfer experience, they don't pass on physical improvement. So, Pinkie and I will be helping you in that aspect."**

 **"And how will you do that?" questioned the Jinchuriki.**

 **Pinkie grinned, making him grow worried, before she pulled out a strange black orb from…somewhere. "Simple; we'll be working on your reaction and evasion skills! Now DODGE!"**

 **"Dodge?!" yelled the blonde before he saw Pinkie light up the small bit of fuse sticking out of the orb and he paled. "OH SHIT!"**

"Such language!" Celestia abolished.

Kushina stood and made for her suite, most likely to get a bar of soap to stick in her son's mouth because of his alternate's language, but a golden light surrounded her body and she was levitated back to her seat.

"Other him. Punishing Darling for what some alternate version of himself says would be pointless. Besides, knowing Pinkie Pie, she most likely gave him a valid reason. Who KNOWS what goes on in her head?" Sunset Shimmer stated, "At least see what she did that was so bad his other felt it was warranted."

"How come _I'm_ being held accountable for what my other self does, but _Naruto_ gets a lawyer?!" Sakura grumbled.

"Well, you did act like your alternate self has about things in the real world." Sai pipped up.

"...Shut up, Sai."

 **he yelled before he jumped out of the way of the now identified bomb.**

"Ohhhh...uh, Ms. Kushina, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna...while that may not excuse his swearing, it certainly explains it! Pinkie Pie with any kind of explosives..." Sunset said with a shudder, "BAD MIX!"

Everyone that knew Pinkie turned to the fun-loving, pink mare and paled at that. It was easy to see Sunset Shimmer's point. Someone as energetic and crazy as Pinkie Pie with explosives WAS a bad mix!

" Thank you, God, that it's too late for Pinkie to meet Deidara..." Naruto muttered.

"Would you stop with giving ideas that'll result in nightmares?! First Pinkie with an energy drink, now what would happen if she ever met that bomb-obsessed psycho!" Sakura hissed.

 _'Hmm...Pinkie Pie with pyrotechnics like fireworks after chugging that energy drink silo idea I had earlier...yes! I like that amount of havoc! Thank you Naruto!'_ Chrysalis thought, mentally laughing wickedly at the sheer apocalyptic level of what that combination would be like for Equestria! Oh...as a villain, she honestly loved this book! Usually, it was always crush this, destroy that, kill her, maim him...but the plots she was getting ideas for from it were SO...MUCH...FUN~! She honestly felt like she understood why Discord enjoyed raising hell solely for the sheer fun of it now!

 **As he ran away, Pinkie was suddenly seen with a saddle full of unlit bombs and she chased after him with a giggle.**

Minato and Kushina fainted.

Naruto paled "...Sawed-off sadomasochistic little psycho...!" he muttered, praying for his other.

Anko hooted with laughter at that while everyone else looked at Pinkie Pie with horrified shock.

 **A.J.**

"Again?! _"_ Applejack groused.

 **sighed at her friend's idea of training and wondered what kind of crazy person would see it as useful.**

Anko looked away and whistled innocently at that.

 **Back in Konoha, a certain Tokubetsu Jonin suddenly sneezed and grinned. "I can't help but think someone is using my old training methods…" She then did a fist pump and yelled out, "Show them what for, whoever you are!"**

Everyone stared at Anko at that.

"...Knew there was a reason she scared the crap outta me, she's a one-hundred percent, grad-A certifiably insane psycho!" Naruto muttered, shivering.

 **[Two Weeks Later (Strength Training)]**

"Wonder what this'll be?" Twilight asked.

 **Naruto stood in front of one of the many apple trees of the Apple Orchards. A.J.**

Applejack pursed her lips in annoyance, she hoped that it started addressing her by her full name again some time soon.

 **stood beside him with an empty basket on the ground next to her. "Okay Naruto, let's see just how hard you can kick. We ponies can't use hands unless we transform, so we rely on our hooves and heads for physical attacks."**

"...Well that explains a lot, other reality or not! All that brain damage!" Chrysalis laughed, pausing in her reading.

"HEY!" The mares all shouted. They did not like being called stupid like that!

 **"Yea, I was wondering about that. Dash showed me her transformation before I came back here and I was wondering if you all could do it."**

All the mares suddenly looked a lot more interested.

 **"Of course we can, partner. Shoot, we use chakra so we can sure as sugar use jutsu."**

"WHAT THE...?!" Everyone shouted.

"But...didn't the other Rainbow Dash say...?"

"Did it to tell of the broody prick." Rainbow dash said, easily understanding why her other had said that for.

Everyone else nodded at that, taking it for what it was worth. Although, Sakura scowled at Rainbow dash for what she called Sasuke.

 **The Uzumaki nodded before a thought came to him. "In that case, could you all come to Konoha to watch me in the finals? I'd feel a lot better if I had people cheering me on."**

The Mares all smiled and nodded at that. Gladly!

 **A.J.**

Applejack grumbled.

 **smiled and placed a hoof on his shoulder reassuringly. "Of course we will. We wouldn't miss it for anything."**

 **"Thanks," said the Jinchuriki gratefully before he suddenly rushed the tree in front of him and lashed out with a spin kick. When his foot struck the tree, about five apples fell, but it still looked pretty full.**

 **"Not bad, but it could definitely be better.**

Applejack nodded at her other's words. Not bad for a first time, but really could do better.

 **At least your body is moving more fluidly thanks to Pinkie's methods."**

 **Naruto shuddered at the memory. First it was bombs he dodged**

"First...?" Naruto squeaked, paling. He did NOT like that word!

 **, then the pink mare moved to what she called "Party Cannons" that fired flame covered cannonballs,**

Out of Naruto, Minato, Kushina, and Hinata, it wasn't possible to tell who took that worst.

 **and then she covered him in honey and pissed off a full beehive before she had him try to outrun them all.**

Sunset looked at Kushina. "Forgive his language from earlier, just this once?" she asked.

Kushina nodded faintly. Pinkie Pie belonged in a straight jacket, a muzzle, and a padded room... one that was locked in a cell a good ninety-nine thousand feet below sea level! After having to find out what Pinkie's "training methods" were, ANYBODY having to go through them would cuss!

Anko, hearing what Pinkie did, clapped. The two would have to swap ideas sometime!

 **He was never more thankful for his healing factor than after getting stung all over.**

"God bless the fox, God bless the fox, God bless the fox, God bless the fox..." Kushina muttered over and over again like a mantra at that.

 **But still, the results were more than expected. He was faster than ever, had incredible increases in flexibility, and his reaction timing improved substantially.**

 **"Alright, we'll increase your leg strength by having you bench press large rocks with your legs only. We'll start with a fifty pound rock and work our way up by intervals of ten pounds."**

Lee quickly pulled out a notebook and copied that training ex down, eagerly looking forward to getting to try it himself.

 **He nodded while she left to fetch the first large rock. With a sigh, he lowered himself down and leaned back against a tree with his arms behind his back. "Man… This place is so peaceful."**

"Thank you." The nine mares all said, while Chrysalis put a hand to her mouth and poofed out her cheeks, pretending to vomit.

 **His eyes closed in relaxation while a small filly peered out from behind a tree. She had a yellow coat, bushy red hair with curled ends, amber eyes, and a large pink bow on top. This was Applebloom, the younger sister of Applejack and one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a trio of fillies in search of their Cutie Marks.**

The mares all smiled, while Chrysalis groaned and rubbed her temples. She'd abducted the Cutie Mark Crusaders once as part of a plan to get revenge on Twilight and the Mane Six...but dealing with those three was WAY more trouble then revenge was ever worth!

 **She had heard of the Ponies gaining a summoner and was curious as to what he looked like. Now that she got a good look at him, she couldn't help but wonder if she and her friends would be able to join the contract and help him out.**

"Well, why not? More friends and good times, and if the other me can help them get their marks, all the better, right?" Naruto asked.

At that, Rainbow dash, Applejack, and Rarity all got up and went over to Naruto, and Sunset, having an idea as to what her friends were doing, got out of the way so they could, the three gave him a group hug, all smiles as they sat down as Sunset took up Naruto's lap again.

 **"What are you doing, darlin'?" asked A.J.**

"Stop addressing me that way!" the country pony growled, teeth clinched.

 **from behind her, making her jump in surprise. A.J. then looked to where her younger sister was gazing and smiled. "Y'know, if you're so curious about him, why don't you just introduce yourself? I'm sure he'd love to meet you and your friends."**

 **"Y-You think?" asked the filly.**

"Certainly. Can never have too many friends or people you care about." Naruto smiled.

"Ok...are we **_SURE_ ** he's not from Equestria? He's got enough of the mindset and attitude for it!" Luna asked her sister.

Celestia looked disappointed as she nodded. Naruto really would fit in wonderfully In Equestria. It was almost some cruel, sick cosmic joke that he was made to live in a world other than theirs. "From there, no. Belongs there, yes." Luna's elder sister said.

 **"Of course. Now, go get your friends while I help Naruto with his training."**

 **Applebloom nodded with a smile before she ran off, leaving a smiling Applejack to head over to her summoner. They got to work on his training for around a half an hour before Applebloom came back with her two friends.**

 **The first was a pegasus filly with an orange coat, frizzed purple hair, and purple eyes.**

Rainbow dash smirked and gave a salute to the younger pegasus' image.

 **The second was a unicorn filly with a white coat, smooth pink and purple streaked hair with curled ends, and pale green eyes.**

Rarity smiled warmly at that, eyes full of pure tenderness.

 **They were Scootaloo, a filly hoping to be as well known as Rainbow Dash,**

"Heh...ambitious little squirt. Of of the things I like about Scoot." Rainbow dash said with a grin.

 **and Sweetie Belle, the younger sister of Rarity.**

Rarity squealed at that, "I just can't ever get over how utterly adorable she is!"

"Hold up...you have younger sisters?" Ino asked.

Rarity nodded, beaming. Applejack smiled proudly and tossed her hat into the air e before catching it and putting it back on her head.

 **"Hey there girls!" Applejack called out with a smile while Naruto paused in his leg pushups to see them.**

 **With a smile he waved to them before he went back to his training. Applebloom looked to her sister, who nodded reassuringly, before she and her friends walked up to the blonde. "Hi, my name's Applebloom! I'm A.J.'s little sister!"**

"Eh...she's my little sister, so she's allowed." Applejack shrugged at the others' looking at her because of she didn't react to being referred to simply as "A.J."

 **"I'm Scootaloo," introduced the young pegasus.**

 **"And I'm Sweetie Belle," finished the unicorn filly.**

 **"Nice to meet you three," returned the Uzumaki as he kept training. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha."**

 **"You're really an Uzumaki?!" Scootaloo asked excitedly.**

Naruto and his mom both looked at one another before they grinned haplessly at one another. "Wow...our family's quite the bunch of celebrities, aren't they?" Naruto asked.

Kushina laughed.

 **"Yep, my mother was one so that makes me one too," he answered before he shoved the rock high up into the air with his legs and pushed off of the ground with his hands. In midair, he intercepted the falling rock and lashed out with rising kick that was enhanced with chakra and burst the rock into dozens of small pebbles.**

"Showing off for the kiddies, eh Naruto?" Anko teased.

Kurenai shushed her friend at that. Nothing wrong with a good impression, and young kids were excitable anyways. Give them something that they found great and inspiring and they'd strive to do their best for just about everything afterwards. And if those three were trying to find their special talents, why not show them something like that to encourage them because then they were given something to look forward to?

 **The fillies were left awestruck at the kick while A.J. nodded approvingly. 'Good… Now his kicks will definitely make heads roll.'**

Glad the other me didn't say that out loud with my little sister and her friends there. Last thing they'd was haring that." Applejack muttered, pulling her hat low over her head and eyes.

 **[Two Days Later (Magic Training)]**

Naruto's eyes glinted, he was looking forward to this!

"My turn to help you out, huh?" Twilight asked Naruto, smiling.

 **Seated in a cross legged position, Naruto waited eagerly for Twilight and Rarity to begin his training in mana. "So, how do we start this training?"**

"I agree with the other me. Learning magic'll be awesome!" Naruto said.

"It is pretty amazing." both Celestia's students, past and present, agreed with him.

 **"First, you need to relax and meditate," instructed the stylish unicorn. "Mana can only be called upon when you're calm and collected."**

 **"Right," he said with a nod before he laced his fingers and had his hands rest in his lap with the palms up. His eyes closed and his breathing slowly calmed as he brought himself into a meditative position.**

 **"Good," praised the student of Celestia. "Keep at it and you'll soon feel a pull towards your mind's center. Let the pull take you there."**

 **He didn't respond to them and focused on reaching his mindscape. Slowly, he felt a tug on his mental awareness and let the pull take him. His eyes opened to the hallway he saw the first time he arrived, except there was a third path now. While the first felt of winter and the second felt malicious, this one felt…strange.**

"How so?" Tsunade asked.

 **If he had to describe it, it felt ghostly yet at the same time full of life.**

"Ok...that's one weird paradox." Shikamaru said.

 **It was definitely new to him and he headed down that path.**

 **As he walked down the path, he noticed the walls gain archaic runes and the water change to a yellow-green that shone brightly. He soon entered a room that had a small pedestal with claw-shaped corners. Each of the claw tips was touching an orb of swirling energies that shone as various colors.**

At that, everyone looked interested, especially the mares. The aura of an individual's magic was usually only a single color, so why was Naruto's...?

"No way...it can't be...I mean, I know he has all the aspects to his character and the proper mindset, but still...there's just no way...all of them at once, condensed and focused in a single individual?...This...this is something that's never happened before..." Celestia muttered under her breath, too stunned to even shake her head.

"What? What's going on?" Kiba asked.

The mare girls all ignored him, utterly fixated on the multi-colored orb of magic that the image from the projector displayed, looking shocked.

"What's the big deal?" Sakura wondered, only to be vehemently shushed by the Changeling Queen, whose gaze kept shifting back and forth between the image and Naruto, a deranged, starved, and excited spark dancing wickedly in her eyes each time she did so.

To think...he potentially had all of...oh, no way was he getting away from her! She wouldn't allow it! Never! Never ever! He wasn't going to slip through her grasp!

 **He raised a brow as he felt the orb pulse every few seconds and send the water on the ground outward in small waves. Slowly, he approached the pedestal raise a hand to it. When his palm got close, the claws opened up and unblocked the orb, allowing the Uzumaki to grasp it.**

 **As soon as he did, he felt a rush of power enter his body. The pipes that rested on the ceilings of the hallways gained a third one. The first was a bright blue that represented his chakra. The second was a bloody crimson that represented the Kyuubi's chakra. And finally, the third pipe was a yellow-green to represent his newfound mana.**

"Score!" Naruto grinned. He was looking forward to this!

 **His mind then forced his consciousness back to his body and he opened his eyes to the smiling faces of Twilight and Rarity.**

 **"Congratulations, darling," praised the white mare.**

Sunset pouted again at the alternate Rarity calling Naruto that. It was Sunset's nickname for him!

 **"Now, we can begin training you to harness your mana," stated the violet one. "We'll begin with the Healing Spell."**

 **[One Week Later (Five Days to Finals)]**

 **Naruto stood alone in the courtyard in the dead of night for personal training.**

"What're you working on?" Choji asked.

 **He had learned much from the Ponies, but this was something that he had to learn on his own.**

 **He was starting to wonder of Kami had a thing for irony. He was gifted with the power of the first person he saw as a friend and lost; the girl**

 _'Wasn't Haku a boy?'_ Sakura wondered, then shivered. Maybe—hopefully—the one in the reality of the book was actually girl rather than an androgynous pretty boy. If that was why Naruto wasn't correcting what the book said Haku Yuki's gender was, she fully understood that!

 **who showed him what to truly fight for.**

Naruto smiled sadly. That was indeed true. He doubted he'd be who he was without meeting Haku and Zabuza in the Land of Waves and had learned about protecting what precious to him from the ice-user.

 **Her mentality was easily that of an Uzumaki due to her drive to put the man she saw as precious to her above all else. She even sacrificed herself for him, and it was heart wrenching to see the man seemingly take it all with apathy.**

"Seemingly being the key word there." Naruto defended.

Everyone nodded.

 **It wasn't until Naruto's words got to him that the blonde saw true regret and sorrow in the so-called Demon's eyes. This man finally let down his facade of disinterest for his comrades, but it was just in time for him to die in hopes of avenging her.**

 _'And all I did_ — _all I could do_ — _was watch...and I still regret it!'_ Naruto thought with a wince.

 **Two people were lost that day; two people who didn't deserve the life they had lived or the deaths they received.**

 **The blonde held out a hand and focused his chakra to his palm. His eyes were closed in concentration as he attempted to perform what the girl had performed many times against him and Sasuke. The air around him slowly grew colder and swirled into his right palm before it took the shape of a senbon needle made entirely of ice.**

"Ice? Don't you need to mix wind and water elemental affinity to create that?" Sai asked.

"You have a water affinity?" Ino asked, turning to Naruto.

Naruto shrugged as best he could with Sunset sitting on his lap, careful not to jostle her, "Heck if I know. I was only trained in wind. Nobody checked my other one, or even showed me how to see if I had a secondary elemental affinity at all." he said.

"But what about the Lava style, Magnet style, and Boil style you used?" Ino asked.

"Those were from Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, Gyūki, and Kurama— not me." Naruto said.

"Who?" Kiba directed at his rival.

"The tailed beasts." Naruto said, fighting the urge to add a 'duh' to the end of that.

"You named the Tailed Beasts?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.

"Nope. Sage of Six Paths did," Naruto explained, "long story."

Everyone nodded, taking that for what it was worth.

 **He smiled sadly at the sight of it. It was flawed; horribly so. But, it was a start to the preservation of her memory.**

 **"I promise to keep your spirit with me when I use this power…Haku-chan," he whispered as he attempted to make another senbon.**

 **Unknown to him, six mares watched on sadly as he trained himself ragged to learn the power of his dead friend. They all resolved to be there for him, as friends, family, and possibly something more.**

"Uh...pardon?" Naruto said, feeling his face start to heat up.

The Mane Six all gulped, not sure how they should feel about that last part.


	6. Chapter 6

"Last chapter before another break?"

"I'll do it." Minato said, taking the book.

 **Chapter 6: To Prove Oneself**

 **The roar of the crowd…**

 **The gleam in the eyes of betting officials…**

"...Sporting events...heh...there just cannot be somebody that makes bets on the outcomes..." Rainbow dash snickered.

 **The pride in the eyes of the many teachers and mentors…**

"Well, they did work hard to get there,so why wouldn't there be pride? from the ones who taught them?" Kurenai reasoned.

Everyone nodded.

 **These were just a few things that the remaining Genin saw as they stepped into the arena floor for the final part of their exams. Although, two Genin were missing and it was immediately noticed by the Konoha Genin. After all, the missing Genin were Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.**

Sakura blinked, then turned to her teammate, "Naruto...please don't tell me you're taking after Kakashi-sensei, too."

"Other me for one, for another, my alternate's match is later, so he's got time." the blond said.

Sakura nodded.

"Oh! One more thing, Sakura...you just have to wait."

"Huh?" the pink-haired girl said.

Naruto shrugged "You improved after Sasuke left. He wasn't around anymore, so you couldn't see everyone and everything else around you as simply being "in the way" of you and him. That's when things shaped up with everything from your training to your attitude."

Sakura sighed as she felt like someone had just pardoned her execution while everyone else stared at her.

"Knew it. Everything negative about her stemmed from Sasuke. Her training, I get...but her _character_...? Just goes to show you how addicted to him she is if it warps who she is as a person." Tenten said.

"Too much of a nice guy...that's it, he's coming back with us." Twilight said as her friends nodded. No way was he not going to Equestria when they were done with the book and got out of here.

 **Hiruzen noticed this as well, but he wasn't as worried since their matches were the third and fifth ones.**

"Thank god...now there won't nearly be a riot all because everyone only cares about Sasuke." Anko muttered.

"Uh...riot?" Kakashi repeated faintly.

"Why do you think that Sasuke was given an extension for his time to get there, much less _TWO_ , when if it'd been anyone else, they would've been disqualified the first time they didn't show up?" the snake mistress said in annoyance.

Kakashi chuckled nervously.

 **They had time to arrive and participate in their matches. For now, he was seated in the Kage Booth with the Kazekage. Both Kage had two guards and it went unnoticed that the Kazekage's eyes narrowed when they passed over Jiraiya of the Sannin seated on one of the awnings over the spectator seats.**

Naruto and the other ninjas chuckled. Take THAT, snake-creep!

 **He** **elder Kage**

"Forgot the T at the start of the word 'the'." Twilight said.

"Enough already!" Rarity snapped while she and the others payed Rainbow dash over the bet.

 **stood up and addressed the people, "Welcome to the Finals of the Chunin Selection Exams!" A roar of the crowd interrupted him before he continued, "We hope that the matches peak your interests and that the visiting officials and tourists see just what these young Genin are capable of."**

 **He sat back down as the proctor, a man named Shiranui Genma, started the first match between Aburame Shino and Abumi Zaku.**

 **[Random Rooftop of Konoha]**

 **Seated on the roof's edge and observing the match between the Genin of Konoha and Oto were Hatake Kakashi and his student Sasuke. The Uchiha had overcome a wardrobe change during the month which consisted of an all black outfit with arm belts all over his left arm. His sandals changed to black as well while his hair was grown out slightly.**

"Hemp...seems he's embraced a color scheme that reflects his attitude over the moth gap." Rarity snipped, peeved at the mention of the Uchiha.

 **"Pay attention, Sasuke," Kakashi advised while he kept his gaze on his orange book. "It's always best to keep an eye on your potential competition."**

"Of which he thinks there are none." Choji said darkly.

 **Sasuke merely grunted in response before a thought came to mind. "Any sign of the dobe?"**

"His Royal Emo-ness does know you have an actual name, right?" Sunset asked Naruto.

 _'This from the one that's only used my actual name once when she was getting mom's blood to cool?'_ Naruto thought. But then, being called "Darling" wasn't an insult, and she said it was actually a sign of acknowledgement to his character earlier. So he didn't dub Sunset Shimmer a hypocrite for it. He shrugged, "Eh, knowing is independent of caring. That's always been an issue with Sasuke: He knows, just doesn't care."

"I can believe that." Sunset commented flatly.

 **This earned the Uchiha a sigh from the Jonin. "Sasuke, you should really be more appreciative of your teammates and not berate them.**

The readers snorted. Sasuke, appreciative?! Ha! That'd be the day!

 **After all, Naruto has done quite a lot for you and Sakura, yet you both just belittle him and bring him down," admonished the man. _'Of course, you two also left him for dead in the forest and never bothered to ask if he was alright.'_**

"If they left him for dead, why would they ask if he was alright or not? They already proved they don't care about him just by leaving him." Celestia asked.

 **The Uchiha didn't respond and just turned his gaze towards the match just in time to see Shino's bugs plugging Zaku's airwave holes. The Oto Genin was foolish enough to fire them while plugged and suffered for it by having his arms blown off from the elbows down.**

Everyone cringed.

 **"Pathetic," murmured the Genin as the medic took away the severely crippled Oto-Nin.**

"I can honestly say I can't stand Sasuke...I really can't." Luna said.

 **[Stands of the Stadium]**

 **In the top row of the stands sat six women who were unique in their own way.**

The Mane Six all grinned.

 **The first had slightly pale blue skin and rainbow colored hair that draped over her left shoulder and frizzed at the ends. She was dressed in a black shirt that had a cloud shooting a rainbow colored lightning bolt portrayed on the front, dark blue cargo pants, and black kunoichi sandals. Around her neck was a pendant of a bright blue pegasus and her right middle finger had a ring with the Uzu Swirl on it.**

"Uzu swirl, eh?" Kushina asked, amused.

"Gotta support our go-to guy, after all. Everyone's got an M.V.P—your kid's ours." Rainbow dash said with a smirk.

Kushina laughed, delighted. She was really liking these Equestria Girls!

 **The second had tanned skin and had her long blonde hair tied in a low ponytail while a western hat, with three apples styled on it, rested atop her head. She was dressed in a red and white plaid shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a pair of dark blue jeans, and some brown boots. Around her neck was a necklace with an orange horse on it and she also sported an Uzu Swirl ring.**

 **The third had slightly pale skin and blue eyeliner on her face. Her purple and blue her was styled beautifully straight with curled ends and framed her face magnificently. She was dressed in a white dress what reached her knees and sandals that matched the blue streaks in her hair. Over the heart of the dress were three crystal-like markings while a white unicorn pendant hung around her neck. Her Uzu ring was the only thing that stood out from the color scheme, but she didn't seem to care at all.**

Everyone looked at Rarity, who looked a bit stunned herself. She was wardrobe clashing?! But then she smiled. "Well...nothing wrong with doing anything to show support and be there for your friends."

Everyone but Chrysalis chuckled. The Changeling just rolled her eyes.

 **The fourth woman had a slight purple tint to her skin that made people who noticed her think she was from an exotic country.**

Twilight blinked. Exotic? She'd never really thought of her coloration that way before.

 **Her dark blue hair flowed straight down her back while the purple and red streaks added to her charm. She was dressed in a dark purple shirt and black cargo pants while she wore dark blue sandals on her feet. A purple unicorn pendant hung around her neck while her fingers sported two rings; one being the Uzu Swirl and the other in the design of a bursting red sparkle.**

"An Uzu ring AND one of my Cutie Mark? Nice." Twilight said.

 **The fifth had a light yellow tint to her skin while her pink hair flowed down to her mid back and curved out at the ends. She wore a green shirt with a design of three blue butterflies with pink wings on the front just under her yellow pegasus pendant. She wore a light yellow skirt that fell past her knees and green sandals while her Uzu ring was hidden underneath her demurely clasped hands. She had this incredibly shy aura to her that many passerby spectators saw as adorable.**

Fluttershy went beet red at that. Adorable?! Her?!

 **The last one had skin with the faintest undertone of pink that many people failed to see. Her dark pink seemed**

"Missing the word "hair" entirely." Twilight said.

"NO!" her friends groaned as they paid Rainbow dash again. They thought that was over!

 **to poof out all the way down to her lower back. She wore a pink shirt with the sleeves and collar lined in black that had three balloons styled over her heart. Her shorts gray and stopped right at her knees while her feet were covered in black sandals. Her attire was finished by her pink horse pendant and Uzu ring.**

Rarity blinked, "You know, Pinkie...that does look good, especially the color scheme with the contrasts of light and dark colors."

Pinkie grinned and nodded.

 **"Think he'll choose to make a grand entrance?" asked the one in the white sundress.**

"Hope so!" Pinkie cheered.

 **The one with rainbow hair smirked. "Nah, he won't do that. He wants people to see him as respectable since he wants to bring back the Uzumaki name."**

Kushina was on the fence about that. She liked things fun and interesting if she could help it, but it was important to make a professional appearance when you had that big a goal.

 **The shy one gave a small smile at her friend's words. "He's come so far from when we first met him, hasn't he?"**

 **"That he has," the one in the western hat agreed. "To think that he's gained so much experience and prowess is nothing short of impressive."**

"Good friends, good teachers, and knowing how to approach things from the right angles all help." Naruto said, it was obvious from the training (or in Pinkie's case, torture) methods the mares all used last chapter that they had made things to best suit his kinesthetic learning style.

 **"Not to mention his studies with mana. He's learning at an extensive rate that I wouldn't be surprised if he caught up with me in about a year," added the one with the sparkle ring.**

Celestia, Luna, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle all gawked at that, utterly stunned.

"Why are you guys so shocked at that?" Ino asked.

"Heheheh...well, both Twilight and I have learned magic for...pretty much all our lives, and we both study under Princess Celestia. And if I was skilled enough at energy manipulation that I was able to make those additions to this space we're in...what does that say about Naruto's growth rate for his lessons in magic?"

Now everyone was gaping while Naruto smirked. Damn, he felt good!

 **The last one just smiled and kept quiet, surprising her friends since she was the more excitable of them.**

The mares all gawked at Pinkie Pie. Her? Being calm and keeping quiet?! They couldn't see it.

 **Her blue eyes looked down to the arena and mentally wished that the other matches would hurry so that they could watch the Uzumaki perform.**

At that, everyone shook off their shock to snicker. Well that figured. Even if her seeming calm on the outside was a shocker, inside, Pinkie Pie was still hyper.

 **The match between Yamanaka Ino and Sabaku no Kankuro had just ended in favor of the Suna Genin.**

Ino flinched.

 **Ino, while having trained much more intensely than she had ever done before, was just unable to tell the difference between the puppet and the main body. It turns out that Kankuro had pulled the trick he used against Misumi once again and she was unprepared for the poison that had been injected into her via senbon. While she was decent with poison, it was only with Konoha's poison and not Suna's.**

"...Gonna need to fix that..." Ino muttered.

 **"Now then, the third match will be between Uchiha Sasuke and Nara Shikamaru!" called out Genma and many of the Konoha civilians cheered for Sasuke.**

The mares all booed, hissed and jeered at that.

 **Shika merely sighed and was just about to forfeit before his gaze locked with his mother's in the stands. She was smiling at him, but he and his father knew that the smile she gave was anything but sweet. It was one of those smiles that screamed, "Do it or face my anger!"**

Shikamaru paled and sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly at the snickers he got at that.

 **"Troublesome…" he muttered before he made his way down just in time to see his opponent appear in an overly dramatic swirl of leaves and wind. "Tch… Show off…"**

"Yep...a flashy showoff. He's like a firework: loud, bright, and flashy, but fades quickly...good thing that he's prone to burning his reserves out and leaving himself a sitting duck because of it...must be why he liked the curse mark so much, extra stores of energy he could use to keep from exhausting himself to where he can't move." Naruto said, getting a nod from Shikamaru.

"Surprised that you're not upset anymore about your name being shortened." Sai told the Nara.

"Eh...complaining about it won't change things and is too much work as it is. Bygones be bygones, after all." he shrugged at the Ex-ROOT member's words.

 **Sasuke gave Shika a once over before he scoffed and stood with his arms crossed. "I forgot that you were my opponent. I can't believe I trained so much just to have a lazy idiot as my first opponent."**

"Lazy yes, idiot no." Naruto said, getting a series of nods from everyone that knew Shikamaru. Choji was rubbing his knuckles with a scowl at the Nara being called an idiot. Shikamaru was his best friend after all.

 **Shika just yawned off the insult since he had truthfully been called worse. Besides, he didn't give a damn about Sasuke's opinions of him. Opinions meant nothing in the long run; only actions and outcomes.**

"Nice attitude." Twilight commented.

 **Of course, this route meant that he'd have to actually put some effort and he sighed in annoyance at that.**

Ino and Choji laughed. That figured!

 **"Alright then," Genma stated before he brought his raised arm down. "Begin!"**

 **Once he jumped away from the Genin, Sasuke took the initiative and launched a volley of shuriken at the lazy genius. Shika's normally bored eyes lit up in analytic observation and he skillfully jumped back while blocking all of the shuriken with thrown kunai.**

 **As soon as he landed, he placed his hands in a modified rat seal and used his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession). His shadow warped before it stretched out across the ground in hopes of catching the Uchiha's.**

 **Sasuke scoffed in annoyance before he jumped high into the air and launched his Housenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Sage Fire), making the Nara cancel his jutsu in favor of avoiding the many fireballs. He secretly pulled out a couple of smoke bombs and set them off just as the fireballs landed, making the affected area get consumed in a black haze.**

Twilight whistled, impressed. If it were thick enough, even smoke could leave a shadow, if only for just a moment. Add that with blinding...that wasn't a bad tactic at all. She was REALLY going to enjoy that shogi game with the Nara!

 **The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at the smoke cloud while taking random glances at the ground in case the Nara tried anything with his shadow. The smoke slowly cleared and Shika was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke scowled in confusion before he instinctively activated his Sharingan to search for his opponent's chakra signature.**

"Cheap vision powers..." Naruto muttered. He'd really come to hate the Uchiha and their ocular powers from all his dealing with them. And not only was the Mangekyou Sharingan already overpowered as it was, but having the _Rinnigan_ of all things as just another level the Sharingan could obtain? How cheap was that?!

 **His red eyes turned to one of the few trees in the arena and he flew through handseals before he launched a Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fireball) into its branches. Shika was quick to jump out of the way just as the branches were set aflame and he launched a lone kunai at the Uchiha. Sasuke was easily able to dodge thanks to his dojutsu, but a gleam caught his eyes; one that came from ninja wire!**

 ** _'Shit!'_ he mentally cursed and made to jump away before he felt his body freeze. Shika landed and the spectators saw his shadow moving as if it were that of a flame towards the Uchiha.**

 **"Kagemane successful," he stated with a smirk. "I didn't think that the same trick I used in the Preliminaries would work. I guess you aren't as tough as you think, Sasuke."**

The Mane Six cheered.

 **The Uchiha glared hatefully at the Nara while his Curse Mark pulsed in response to his anger.**

"Wha...but I thought Kakashi sealed the Curse Mark!" Kurenai said.

"I did!"

Anko grunted, "Like it matters. Sasuke _wanted_ the Curse to work. That's the deciding factor with the mark!"

 **The pulse made Shika's shadow fluctuate slightly, and his eyes narrowed as the Curse Mark pulsed again, only much more forcefully. The result was Shika losing control of Sasuke's shadow and the Uchiha using his newfound speed that he gained during the month to blur in front of the shadow user and launch him back with a rough kick to the stomach.**

"What?!" Twilight yelped.

"So cheap!" Rainbow dash growled

"No fair!" Fluttershy said

"Lousy cheat! Pinkie Pie booed

"Should've watched that and locked Jerkules away when that mark started acting up!" Sunset Shimmer pointed out.

"He had him!" Rarity shouted.

"Shikamaru should've won that!" Applejack huffed.

 **The Nara was sent tumbling back into one of the other trees gasping for air and Genma halted Sasuke before he could cause anymore harm. "That's enough. Your opponent is done for. The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!"**

 **The crowd roared in approval and some medics took away the lazy genius while Sasuke strutted off with an air of superiority.**

"Superiority?! He use strength that was given to him from an outside source rather than the kind he always had or earned from working hard! Crowd might as well be cheering for Orochimaru! The Curse Mark won that fight, Sasuke's just taking the credit!" Twilight spat.

"Humph...I hear you and couldn't agree more, Sparkly." Anko grunted.

Twilight turned to the questionably sane Special Jonin, glaring as she started having a spasmodic facial seizure, "Ok...do NOT call me "Sparkly"...I never could stand that nickname!" the lavender girl growled through clenched teeth.

 **Dash scowled at the Uchiha as he walked off. "That guy needs a beat down and a good one at that."**

"I'm right there with ya, sister." Rainbow dash agreed with her other.

 **"Calm down," Rarity advised. "We need to stay calm and show our support for Naruto-kun."**

 **"She's right, Dash," A.J. agreed. "No sense in getting all fussed up over some no good fool anyway."**

"No-good fool...fits pretty well." Naruto admitted.

 **Dash crossed her arms in her seat with an annoyed huff and reluctantly calmed herself. It wouldn't do well to fly off the handle, but remembering what the Uchiha did to Naruto made it very difficult not to do so.**

"Would it be wrong to admit I am really liking you Equestria types? Because really, I can't stress that enough." Kushina said.

 **"The fourth match will be between Hyuuga Hinata and Kinuta Dosu!" Genma declared while the Hyuuga perked up to watch their heiress.**

 **Unknown to most of the spectators, a hooded figure was on the tiled rooftop just behind the Kage Booth. They wore a full body coat that was predominately black in color but had intricate reddish-orange design. On the middle of their back was a large Uzumaki Swirl with the kanji for "Harmony" beneath it. Piercing blue eyes could be seen as the figure sat and observed the matches with their left leg dangling off the rooftop while their right arm rested on their raised right knee.**

"Oooh...very nice!" Rarity said.

"Uh...Rarity? You know that's Other Naruto? The swirl design on the back's a dead give-away. Your other self made that." Applejack sighed.

"Of course I do. However, there is nothing wrong with recognizing the work as being good. My respect to the other me!" the unicorn said.

 **"The matches are going as expected," they murmured in the tone of a young male.**

Naruto rolled his eyes. They all knew it was the alternate version of himself. No need to make it sound all mysterious.

 **"Unfortunately for Hinata, this match goes to Dosu. The Hyuuga work up close and that leaves her extremely vulnerable to his sound based attacks."**

Hinata cringed at that, seeing the point.

 **As predicted, the match went on with Hinata trying to get in close and strike Dosu's tenketsu, but his melody arm's disorientation ability hindered her at every turn. She steadily began losing balance and rhythm with each sound wave that entered her ear canals.**

 **After the fifth swing, she finally fell to her knees and released her stomach's contents on the ground in front of her before Genma called the match in favor of Dosu. The medics were quick to take Hinata away while the Hyuuga looked incredibly displeased with her performance.**

Hinata withered. She hated disappointing others.

 **However, Hiashi – the Head of the clan – knew that his daughter had tried her best. It would seem that the traditional Hyuuga style would need some revising and some additions.**

"Ah...overly traditional types. Too set in their ways to accept change and can't bring themselves to admit the progress the rest of the world makes passed them by long ago because of their obsessive fixation on their glories in the past, no matter how obsolete they're making themselves by rejecting that time moves forward because they like feeling important." Celestia said distastefully.

"Yeesh...how'd you peg the Hyuuga that easily?" Anko asked with a slight smirk.

"Seen too many with that mindset. Always goes down in flames because of it." the white alicorn said, frowning.

Tsunade nodded. Fatalistic traditionalists caused WAY TOO MUCH trouble in the world.

 **"Alright, the final match of the first rounds will be between Sabaku no Gaara and Uzumaki Naruto!"**

 **The crowd was quick to boo the "demon spawn"**

 **"WHAT WAS THAT?!"** Minato and Kushina demanded, the Yellow Flash rereading it again ten more times just to be sure he read it correctly, fury growing worse with each time, and the rest of the group all wondered how Naruto's father hadn't torn the book in two with how how tightly he was gripping it.

 **while the transformed mares cheered for Naruto along with a few people here and there.**

At that, Naruto's parents relaxed.

"Ok...We're **_REALLY_** liking you Equestria types! We mean it! On our souls, we can't express how much we mean that!" both Minato and Kushina both told the transformed mares in unison.

"No need. You love your son, that's as plane to see as day and night are opposites. So your goodwill is to any that genuinely see him as a person and care about him." Luna said.

 **Out of nowhere, Pinkie had pulled out a party popper and used it. However, instead of small streamers from the finger-sized party favor, a firework shot out and exploded, showing Naruto's name in the sparkles.**

"Ah...so _that's_ why you were calm before. The rule of a surprise party: all timing of when you show the fun stuff." Twilight grinned at her friend.

Pinkie nodded.

 **The other mares chuckled at her antics while others were both awed and confused at how the small party popper had that inside of it.**

"Wait...they can do all this crazy stuff with that "chakra" energy, but they're surprised by that?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah. At least the ones that weren't trained to use chakra would be surprised. But to be fair, Pinkie may as well have her own personal reality bubble around her for how much any other laws of space and time besides the ones she makes up herself can actually apply to her and her antics." Naruto grinned.

"You know...that actually makes sense." the country mare said, shooting a sideways glance at the party-obsessed pony/girl. Certainly would go a long way in explaining things about Pinkie and what went on in her head, as well as answer why the ones about to see the match were awed and confused about the party popper holding a firework.

 **Gaara appeared in the center of the arena in a swirl of sand while the cloaked figure from before appeared in a swirl of water. Hiruzen and Jiraiya took note of this and deduced that the teen had a water affinity.**

"No! Really? We couldn't tell!" Tenten said sarcastically, then rubbed her temples, "They 'deduced he has a water affinity' AFTER he shows he has one by showing up in a waterspout like that...I swear, the book's starting to sound like Guy-sensei and Lee!" the brunette weapons mistress said.

Chrysalis blinked, then reached over and pat Tenten's shoulder. "You have to be around a pair of freaks that're that dumb? You poor, doomed girl; I wish I could make the spell that's turned them both mute last forever for you."

"Just goes to show you how how messed up the Flames of Youth are if she's being compassionate like that." Kakashi said, looking at the Changling queen.

 **The figure lowered their hood, showing Naruto's face to the crowd, his eyes brimming with determination and strength. Gaara smirked at that and the Bijuu within him called out for the Uzumaki's blood.**

Minato and Kushina paled at that.

 **"Let the fifth match begin!" Genma called before he jumped away, leaving the two Jinchuriki to stare one another down. Kakashi looked on in earnest, eager to see what his student would bring to the match. Sasuke, who sat next to him, also looked on eagerly. However, he had his Sharingan activated in hopes of learning some new techniques for later.**

"Cop out copycat!" Kiba hissed.

 **Gaara's slightly crazed eyes stared into Naruto's determined ones before he chuckled. "Yes, those are the ones; the eyes of the people who help me prove my existence the best. You will be most helpful in that aspect, Uzumaki."**

Shikamaru's eyes suddenly widened, looking horrified as he thought of something. "Prove his existence...Naruto...remember when we met Gaara in the hospital and he was talking like that?!"

Naruto shuddered. He remembered. Gaara had terrified him so utterly, not for what he did, but for what he'd represented. Back then, Gaara was the avatar of everything Naruto himself had been so dangerously close to turning into if it hadn't been for Iruka.

"I do. You were there to visit Choji, I was there from over-exerting myself training with the Summoning Jutsu and had to deal with Gamabunta and decided to go with you. We came across Gaara in Lee's room and..."

"But if your other self already knows the summoning jutsu, what does that mean?" the Nara said grimly.

Naruto's eyes widened. "...Oh-no...it means I never...we never...so Bushy Brows'..."

Guy and Lee held one another, weeping in horror, while everyone else hung their heads solemnly. It mean Rock Lee's parallel in the book was dead.

 **Naruto stood their silently with his arms lowered to his sides, seemingly open to any kind of attack. Gaara's smirk grew as he queried, "What's wrong Uzumaki? Are you so overcome by fear that you've become as silent as the grave you will soon fill?"**

 **"Just shut up and fight, Gaara," replied the Uzumaki in an even tone, surprising many of the spectators. "I didn't come here to talk; I came here to prove that I have what it takes. I came here to bring my people back into the light after being lost to the whispers of the dark for so long." Slowly raising his right arm, he flexed his fingers in a "come hither" gesture, which made the Suna Genin's eyes narrow in anger.**

"Credit for guts, Blondie...credit for guts..." Rainbow dash said, shaking her head.

 **"Very well then…Uzumaki!" he roared as the sand erupted from his gourd and rocketed toward the blonde.**

 **Many of the Konoha citizens watched in shock as the blonde just stood there while the sand got closer and closer. Kakashi and Hiruzen were close to shouting at him to move while Jiraiya had his eyes narrowed in confusion. 'Damn it, kid; why won't you move?!'**

 **Only the transformed mares looked on with no signs of fear or panic. Instead, they all had determined smirks on their faces; especially Twilight.**

 **Once the sand reached over half of the distance, the crowd heard Naruto speak. "Custos nobilis, dona mihi animam et corpus tuum praesidium!"**

"Noble Guardian, grant my body and soul your protection." Twilight translated.

 **To the shock of nearly everyone in the stands, the sand that was so close to reaching the blonde suddenly stopped as if it met resistance and spread out in midair as if it were covering a wall.**

The ninjas' jaws all dropped. Gaara's sand...even WITH Shukaku still sealed inside him...?!

"Gotta love magic!" Twilight said.

Minato and Kushina looked at one another and laughed at what Twilight said. they agreed!

 **The Konoha Genin were the most surprised since they had no idea that the "deadlast" could pull off something like that.**

"Not a deadlast. The problem was that they just gave him a default, generic paper-and-pencil desk work education when he learns best by rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty by actually _doing_ what you want him to learn. If they never even considered that was the problem, then the fault is the ones who taught him, not his." Sunset Shimmer said.

"True. But who blames adults and the system because of the problems students have?" Tsunade said, scowling.

 **"W-What just happened?!" Kankuro asked in extreme shock as he sat next to Temari and Baki.**

"Don't blame them for being shocked, but you've gotta wonder why they didn't ditch the Sound to fight on their own after seeing something like that." Shikamaru said.

"Very true...if we didn't know better, I would've called that as being vocally-activated jutsu. It would leave his hands free for weaving signs and he could use multiple techniques at once that way, both with hand signs AND just by speaking...scary stuff." Kakashi said.

 **"G-Gaara's sand was…stopped?!" Baki gasped out. Temari just looked down to her fellow blonde in pure surprise while he stood there with his right arm outstretched and his left lowered. Her eyes squinted to see more clearly as his right hand slowly closed into a fist. However, the fist never closed fully and suddenly opened wide with his fingers outstretched, resulting in the sand being pushed back towards Gaara at the same speed it was launched at Naruto.**

"Dude, I gotta study this Latin stuff." Kiba muttered.

 **Gaara's eyes widened slightly at the sudden reversal of his sand and disappeared in a sand swirl, avoiding the devouring wave of grained rock and mineral. He reappeared in one of the trees and willed his sand back into his control before he jumped down.**

 **Naruto reached into his cloak and pulled out a kunai and a seal tag, making some of the spectators narrow their eyes. "We've only just begun, Gaara," he stated as he wrapped the tag around his kunai, which then lit up a dull blue and extended to the length of a short sword. "This is the Chakra Ken Fuiin (Chakra Blade Seal). It is much more difficult to guard against than a regular sword."**

 **To the amazement of the crowd, the blonde vanished and Gaara's sand suddenly rose up in a defensive motion before it fell to the ground lifelessly. The Uzumaki was seen standing behind the redhead with his sword arm outstretched as if he had finished swinging. Without warning, he suddenly spun in place and delivered a backhand slash at Gaara who jumped back slightly to avoid. However, the tip of the chakra blade cut into him making him hold where it hit. However, he felt no blood or any kind of wound, but he still felt slight pain.**

Hinata's eyes went huge. No way...that was just like...!

 **"Have you noticed it now, Gaara?" asked the blonde as he took two steps back. "Have you realized why it is called the Chakra Ken Fuiin?" His answer was a glare and dangerously swirling sand. "Let me enlighten you then. This sword is much harder to guard against because of one simple reason; this isn't a regular sword. It's titled what it is because it targets, not the body or the flesh, but the energy and the core. In other words: this sword directly cuts away chakra, proven by when it cut off the chakra flowing through your sand earlier and made it fall harmlessly."**

 **Many of the older shinobi were amazed at the seal and its incredible usefulness. Hiruzen and Jiraiya were most surprised since they had never heard of such a seal. The Kazekage, who was in actuality Orochimaru in disguise,**

"Wait, what?!" Celestia said.

"He's impersonating him." Tsunade said.

 **licked his lips hungrily at the seal _._ 'I knew leaving you alive would be most intriguing. To think that you could come up with such an invaluable seal is nothing short of incredible. I must find a way to sway you to my cause for I'm sure that the seals you've made now will pale to what you come up with in the near or far future.'**

"Ugh...he's still going on about that?" Naruto groaned.

 **The Mane Six all smiled down at the blonde and knew that this was just a few of the things he was capable of. "C'mon Blondie, you can do it!" Dash cried out with a grin, making the others smirk at her.**

 **Naruto gave a small smile at her cheer before he deactivated the seal on his kunai and pulled out a different one. Gaara, having grown suspicious of what the seals could be capable of, had his sand rage towards the Uzumaki. Naruto however disappeared in a blur of speed and reappeared on the other side of the arena before he placed the seal on the ground. "Teppōmizu Fuiin (Flash Flood Seal)!"**

"Flash flood...! And considering how water bogs down sand or just outright washes it away and that Other-Naruto has a water affinity...this'll be good!" Tenten said.

 **Water gushed out of the seal and slowly the arena began to have a rising water level. Gaara was quick to recall his sand to the air surrounding him while Naruto stood on top of the water with the water walking exercise. Gaara was quick to mimic him while the water stopped flowing at a two foot level.**

"Would it be wrong of me to confess that part of me finds it surprising they could get enough water to spare to learn water-walking given how dry the desert is?" Ino asked.

"Eh...asked Gaara about that once. His exact words were "You'd be surprised how often that's been asked." when it comes to that." Naruto said with a laugh.

 **"Get ready," called out Naruto, bringing everyone's attention to him, "because this is where the hits come harder! Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon)!"**

 **A serpentine dragon made of swirling water surged out of the water and coiled protectively around the blonde before, with a furious roar, it dove towards the redhead. Gaara instinctively called forth as much sand as he could to weaken the blow, but he was still pushed back against the wall.**

"He thought a wall of loose sand could stand up to that much water pressure? He relies too much on his sand defenses." Twilight said.

"And the actual him that I know is aware of that, but he's pretty strong." Naruto said.

"This is going well." Celestia noted.

"That's what worries me...especially since this version of him is how he used to be." Naruto muttered, a shudder going down his spine.

 **"We're not done yet! Suiton: Teppōdama no Jutsu (Water Bullets)!" cried the Uzumaki as he prepared fire large, high-speed shots of water at his opponent.**

 **However, a shriek of rage followed by a crushing level of killing intent stopped him in his tracks**

"Idiot! Keep hammering him! Gaara's nearly impossible to overwhelm, and you're giving him some breathing room when you've got him on the ropes?!" Naruto demanded of his counterpart in the story.

 **and the redhead stepped out from the wall. His right arm, along with the right side of his face, was covered in sand that was riddled with blue markings. The right side of his face looked disfigured from the sand while his right eye changed from green to amber with a black diamond shaped pupil.**

At that, Naruto dropped his hostility and cringed. He remembered that form.

 **"You're right Uzumaki; we are not done yet!" roared Gaara.**

 **Naruto glared at Gaara and was about to strike before his senses went crazy and he felt an incredible amount of darkness coming from the Kage Booth. He gave a sidelong glance to it and sensed that the source was coming from the Kazekage. But the feeling... It felt familiar; hauntingly so. He quickly remembered who had a similar aura and turned to face the Hokage. "Old man, run!" he called out before the Kage Booth erupted in a small explosion followed by many others in the city.**

"Oh, God, NO...not this!" Naruto cried as the ninja half of the group reading all made similar exclamations of horror.

The Sun & Moon Sisters looked to one another and winced, instantly understanding the situation, but wishing they didn't.

"Invasion." Luna said darkly, (no pun intended), her expression grim.

 **In the stands, many of the spectators succumbed to a sudden feeling of sleepiness, but those who were aware released the revealed genjutsu. This included all of the Jonin, some Chunin, Sakura, Sasuke, Shika, Shino, Hinata, and the Mane Six. Hinata also woke up the members of Team Gai while Shino and Shika woke up the other sleeping Genin of the Rookie 12.**

 **As soon as they canceled the technique, all hell broke loose and Konoha was suddenly locked in battle on a dual front of Suna and Oto. Kakashi quickly made his way over to the still awake Genin and ordered, "I want you all to assist in evacuating the citizens! Get them out of harm's way and to the bunkers, now!"**

 **"But what about Naruto?" asked Shika as he pointed down to the arena floor where Naruto was seen talking to six girls; one of which Kakashi and Sasuke had met before.**

 **"I'll give him his orders; now go!" ordered the Jonin and the Genin quickly complied with his order.**

 **Meanwhile with Naruto, he was issuing out orders of his own. "Twilight; you and Fluttershy assist in getting everyone to safety. Your magic and her speed will help out the most with that."**

"We're on it!" Twilight said seriously, Fluttershy nodding firmly.

 **They nodded and left before he turned to the other four stated,**

 **"Rarity and Pinkie; you two help defend the hospital and Academy. They'll be prime targets to cripple the village."**

"Let them try! We won't let them so much as _spit_ at those places!" Rarity announced, as Pinkie Pie clinched her teeth and her eyes blazed.

 **They left as well, leaving Dash and A.J. with him. "You two will help me go after Gaara. He's unstable and we need to calm down his Bijuu before it completely takes over."**

"Not on our watch!" Applejack said, eyes narrowing, Rainbow dash slamming a fist into her palm.

"They're getting too into it again...I mean, it's just a book..." Sai muttered.

"So? The Sand-Sound Invasion was horrible. In what way is it unexpected they want to actually do something to help? They have little obligation to fight for us, yet they're risking themselves and making it their fight, all to protect our home and the innocent people in it, simply because they feel it's the right thing to do. How is it that they're wrong?" Shino said.

At that, the other ninjas all nodded. It made sense that way. It was hard not to understand why the Mares were getting so worked up right now, but it was harder not to respect how much the six of them were so committed to doing it because they felt it was the good and right thing to be done.

"God's speed and blessings. If they've got fire in their hearts like this when there's something they feel needs to be done because they feel it's the right thing, that's all that needs saying." Shikamaru said.

The rest of the ninjas of Konoha all nodded and saluted with respect burning in their eyes at that. To follow what the heart says is right and true, to do what one's soul demanded to be done, heedless of risk to one's personal well-fair, all for the sake of those in need of aid... if that was part of the way these Equestrians lived, then God's speed and blessings upon them for it. Enough said.

"You know, Sai, not to put you on the spot like this...but where was ROOT during this invasion?"

Sai actually sighed at that. "Danzo ordered ROOT not to involve themselves...old underground bunkers under the village...I-I'm not proud of that." he said. Ever since facing his brother's reanimation three months ago in the Fourth Ninja War, Sai's attitude towards his former master had hit rock bottom, even dropping all honorific titles.

Naruto grunted, unsurprised. "So...when all's said and done, ROOT existed more for Danzo's personal agenda. They never acted in the Leaf's best interests, all they did was make enemies for it when we didn't need there to be any by committing atrocities and using the Hidden Leaf as the public face for who gets blamed."

Sai nodded. "You don't seem upset by that, Naruto."

"Only because I've heard it before about that guy. Hell, Pein and Konan both had their OWN score to settle with the war-monger. Pein leveled our village after learning I wasn't there, right? So, stands to reason that he was after something else when he did that. When he used that huge-as-heck blast of repulsive force on our village, Pein was trying to flush out and exterminate Danzo like the rat he was." Naruto said, a bad taste entering his mouth.

Recalling the damage to the place they called home and the massive crater Pein had created in the middle of it, the ninjas all winced. Damn you, Danzo Shimura!

 **They nodded before the three of them raced off towards the direction the Suna Siblings headed off to. Kakashi heard everything that his student had said and summoned a ninja hound named Pakkun to follow the blonde.**

 **[With Twilight and Fluttershy]**

 **"Keep moving, people! Get the children and yourselves to safety as fast as possible!" called out Twilight as she used her mana to create a barrier around the evacuating civilians.**

The rest of the reading group (except for Chrysalis) all beamed at Twilight. "Seems excelling at keeping others safe runs in the family." Luna said, making Twilight swell in pride at the comparison to her brother.

 **Fluttershy was a literal blur of speed as she grabbed any stragglers and placed them inside the barrier.**

"Heheh...that's Fluttershy for you. Pretty meek normally, but give her a good enough reason to assert and apply herself, and not only will she outright shatter her shell rather than simply come out of it and expose a side of herself you never would've guessed was there, but she'll surprise you with just how much she can accomplish." her friends said, smiling as she blushed.

"Well...I-I...um...that is to say..." Fluttershy stuttered.

"Fluttershy, relax. We understand. They just mean you have a kind heart and aren't afraid to follow it when you feel the right thing needs doing." Kurenai said, smiling motherly. The transformed yellow pegasus really did remind her of Hinata.

 **Her speed was augmented with her Jinton (Swift Release)**

"That's one of the skills Hiruko swiped with his Chimera Jutsu!" Naruto cried.

 **which allowed her to move faster than the naked eye, and even some dojutsu, could see.**

 **This was proven by Sasuke being unable to see her move with his Sharingan as he helped his fellow Genin defend the civilians.**

"Bet he really hates that!" Chrysalis chuckled.

 **He scowled at his inability to see her, but a familiar chakra signature caught his eyes. He turned and saw Naruto's signature heading off toward the outer forests of the village.**

 **Eyes narrowing in anger at the blonde getting out of menial tasks,**

"WHAT?! That big, dumb, meanie! How is keeping innocent people safe a menial task?!" Fluttershy shouted.

"It isn't...Sasuke just doesn't care about others except for as means to an end."

 **he left in a blur of speed and hurried after him.**

 **[With Rarity and Pinkie]**

"This'll be good!" Pinkie cheered.

 **"Don't let them get through!" yelled a random Chunin as he held off an Oto-Nin that tried to get to the hospital. He struggled against the enemy for a second before a sudden cannonball hit them and shot them into a random building. He turned and saw a pinkette girl behind a cannon with a pleased smile on her face.**

 **"Oh yea; my Party Cannon is as awesome as ever!" she exclaimed,**

"Willing to bet that Chunin agrees with that comment." Kiba laughed.

 **seemingly unaware of an enemy sneaking up on her.**

 **"Look out!" called the Chunin and the girl seemed to smirk and held up a half ram seal.**

 **"Yumeton: Fūsen Hajikeru (Dream Release: Balloon Burst)!"**

"Dream Release? Huh...that's new." Kakashi said

 **she exclaimed just as she was stabbed from behind.**

"NO!"

 **Her form turned fully pink and deformed into a spherical shape before it exploded in a burst of wind and sound.**

 **The explosion shot the Suna-Nin back into one of their fellow shinobi while Pinkie appeared next to Rarity in a burst of confetti.**

Everyone sighed in relief, although they glared at Pinkie for scaring them.

"Just a spruced-up Substitution Jutsu...you made us all worry about if you were going to be ok over a spruced-up Substitution Jutsu like that?!" Kushina scolded, eyes narrowing at Pinkie.

The party-manic cringed. Even if it was the other her that did it, Pinkie understood why they were upset. They were made to worry about her and didn't like how that had scared them. You couldn't do things like that to people who cared about you.

 **"That was fun!" she giddily stated, making her friend roll her eyes with a smile and form handseals of her own.**

 **"Well, let's see how they stand up to my beautiful creations. Shoton: Arashi no Kongō (Crystal Release: Diamond Storm)!"**

"That's Guren's technique!" Naruto cried.

 **exclaimed the transformed unicorn as bright purple crystals formed in front of her before they broke apart into senbon shaped shards and flew at her targets.**

 **As they hit their marks, Pinkie looked on with starry eyes. "Wow! It's as pretty as ever!"**

 **"Naturally," stated Rarity as she flicked her hair behind her with a pleased smile.**

Naruto was suddenly yanked by his collar and found himself nose-to-nose with a crazed-looking Rarity.

"Naruto...where **_EXACTLY_** can I find this "Guren" person you mentioned?! I simply _**MUST**_ find out how she can do that! Making such lovely crystals out of nothing on a whim like that!"

"I don't know! I only met her once. She went underground because Orochimaru was interested in her powers!" Naruto said, preparing a wince, he knew how she took the news was gonna hurt!

"I! HATE! THAT! WORM!" Rarity bellowed flinging Naruto away in sheer rage and he slammed into the wall behind him and left a crater that a meteor would have made a good impression of.

"Owwww..." he winced out, voice tight and higher due to pain. He felt like he'd just been shot out a cannon. His spine in particular felt like it was full of shards of glass. "I hate...fashion manics...!" he groaned.

 ** _"MY BABY!"_** Kushina shouted. Then lunged and wrapped her hands furiously around Rarity's neck.

"Wait!"

Kushina stopped shaking Rarity and tightening her grip on the white unicorn's throat. "What?! She hurt Naruto! She's dead!"

"What if I help heal Darling?"

"...I'm listening."

As Sakura, Ino, and Tsunade pried Naruto out of the wall and placed him face down and started sending medical chakra into him, Sunset walked up and knelt down next to him.

"No offense...but you don't look like you were taught medical techniques." Tsunade said.

"I admit I'm not, but I have something that could still help that I've done before...Once." Sunset said, then closed her eyes and concentrated. She didn't want this...she needed it, to help someone else. She had to get this right!

In apparent response to her prayer, she suddenly sprouted triangular, tri-pronged wings of golden light from her back as a single, straight horn appeared on her forehead, red rings similar to Naruto's sage mode appeared around her eyes, and her outfit changed to a royal-looking silk dress with thigh-high stiletto boots, and fingerless silk gloves.

Placing her hands on Naruto's back, he started shining like someone had injected him with glitter before it all blended together into a warm, rich, buttery yellow light that spread through his whole body that seemed to relax him to where he nearly fell asleep.

"Sunset Shimmer...you...!" Celestia said, stunned. That form...! Human body aside, it was unmistakable! Her dismissed student was an alicorn?! How?!

Sparing her former mentor a glance, she spoke even as she sent energy into Naruto, helping the fox and the medical ninjas mend the injuries within Naruto's body.

"I made mistakes in the past, but I turned myself around and learned from them. I get it now where I went wrong and my ambitions went to my head. No matter how much talent, skill, power or anything else of something you have, it's all meaningless if you're alone."

"I...you...when did...figure that out?" the sun alicorn said. "I mean, I recognized that you could get this far, but..."

"To be fair, you saw her _potential_. But learning things like that are something a student has to do on their own...in their own time, in their own way. You can talk and talk, but unless they actually live the kinds of experiences themselves, it'll never stick." Tsunade said.

Celestia nodded. Made sense, and in all honesty, it fit. She had seen her former student's level of potential, but Sunset had been lacking in...well...pretty much everything when it came to caring about others. Power-hungry and selfish...all she'd had was ambition. Celestia didn't like describing her old student that way, but it had fit. Now though...now things were different. That was plain to see, and to think she'd even reached this level...Celestia was actually happy for her.

Learning such important life lessons had do be done in each their own time and in each their own way...seemed Sunset had done just that. While she didn't know what Sunset Shimmer had gone through to learn that, Celestia was proud of her for it. She also couldn't help but wonder if it was too late to ask the young mare if she'd be willing to resume her studies.

"Hm? That's odd..." Sunset frowned, turning her attention back to Naruto, puzzled. "His arm...there's something weird about it. I don't know...it feels like it just stops, but then...I'm not sure. I mean, I know it keeps going, but something about it changes..." she said, recalling what he'd told her before how his right arm was a touchy subject.

Twilight walked over and with a quick application of magic, there was a free-floating screen that showed the cellular structure of Naruto's right arm, "Fascinating...the cells are clearly flora, but the structure and set up of them perfectly mimics the genetic structure of fauna. The skeletal system, the nervous system, the circulatory system, the muscles and tendons...all of it."

"Uh...English?" Rainbow dash said.

"His arm's a plant that's made the same way a normal flesh-and-blood limb would be." Twilight said.

"Don't bring it up with him, ok?" Sunset said as she removed her hands from Naruto's back and her features reverted to normal and she pitched forward, only to be caught and helped up by her successor as Celestia's student and the person she'd just help treat.

"Easy, Shimmer, easy..." Twilight told her

"You push yourself too hard...but thanks." Naruto said.

Sunset gave her roommate a glare that was somewhere between annoyed and playful, "I don't wanna hear that from you."

"Uh...not to sound rude or like a jerk or anything, but is her overexerting herself and passing out gonna be a recurring thing with Shimmer?" Kiba asked.

At that, Celestia stood up, walked over to the feral boy, and surprised _EVERYONE_ when she punched him in the face!

"Thank you." Kushina said curtly to the Sun Princess, even as she let go of Rarity.

Rarity coughed and backed away from the mother who had been strangling her, then gulped. "Uh...would it help if I said 'sorry'?" she asked sheepishly.

"Nope...you're STILL dead as soon as I think of something hellish enough!" Kushina said flatly, glaring.

Minato quickly resumed reading to get everyone's attention back on the book and projector.

 **[With Naruto]**

 **Currently, the blonde Genin was crouched on the back of Dash, who had transformed back into a pony**

"Sorry." Naruto a, he didn't like the idea of the Equestrians being treated as if they were just some beasts of burden like that.

"Eh...its cool. Gotta catch up with him quick, right? I've broken the sound barrier flying on my own power before. No biggie." the cyan flyer said with a shrug.

 **with A.J., as she flew above the tree lines after the Suna Siblings while A.J. easily kept up on the ground below. His blue eyes scanned below in search of any sign of Gaara or his siblings. He caught a flicker of black and brown and pointed to where he saw it. "There, that's where they are!"**

 **Dash nodded and dive bombed at them, making Gaara stop and snarl. Temari and Kankuro stopped as well and the kunoichi was quick to pull out her fan and swing it with a cry of, "Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel)!" The wind picked up from the fan and shot at the diving pegasus with razor sharp blades.**

 **Naruto scowled at that and flew through handseals before he called out, "Fuuton: Renkūdan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)!" The blast of air clashed with the sickle-like blades in a burst of wind that Dash easily flew past.**

"Nice one." Rainbow dash commented. Razor-sharp blades of air...definitely nasty. And she was never going to be in the mood to see her alternate self in the story get shredded into a pile of multi-colored meat confetti by them, so Naruto watching her back like that was reassuring. Then again, he was a loyal guy, so she didn't expect any less...and he certainly knew how to deliver!

To Hell and back, and as long as there was even the slightest thing he could do about it, Naruto would keep you from suffering so much as a scratch...she _liked_ that about him!

 **Once close enough, Naruto kicked off of her back and rammed into Gaara while the pegasus struck Temari with a dive bombing head butt.**

 **Kankuro scowled and pulled out his wrapped puppet before he was suddenly rammed into by A.J. who had caught up. "Not this time, partner!" she exclaimed before her form became surrounded in a slightly green shroud of chakra and she slammed her hooves on the ground. "Mokuton: Shichūrō no Jutsu (Wood Release: Four-Pillar Prison)!"**

"WHAT THE...?!" the ninjas all cried. They had NOT been expecting that!

"Wood Release?" Applejack said,"Ok...I'm interested! How's it work?!" she asked eagerly.

"My grandfather had Wood Release, so I understand a bit how it works, and Applejack, this should be apparent to you. Each plant has three stages of life. There is the growth period, followed by an interchanging hibernation and blooming period. Wood style is able to make plants that don't have a growth or hibernation period, meaning it was just created. Out of nothing. How big the plants get, how they grow, where they _can_ grow...everything. Wood Style defies every law of physics in regards to botany there is, and allows the ones able to use it to make their own in their place." Tsunade said.

Applejack blinked then pulled her hat off and started gnawing on the brim like a dog, eyes blazing. "Oh that lousy...! That lucky little...! NO FAIR!" the country mare snapped. How come she wasn't lucky enough to get that, but her alternate in the story did?!

 **From the earth below the puppet user, four pillars of wood shot up and they were quick to grow "bars" to interlock them and make "walls" and a "ceiling". Kankuro was left speechless at the jutsu while the orange mare smirked.**

 **"Stay put for a little while," she stated before she left to help out her fellow pony.**

 **With Dash, she was swerving around in the air to avoid the rapid fire blasts of wind that Temari kept launching at her. "Hold still, you damn horse!" raged the blonde.**

 **"What are you, blind?! I'm a pegasus; not a horse!" yelled the pony.**

"Horse, pony, pegasus, unicorn, alicorn...what's the difference?" Sakura asked.

At that, the Equestrians all glared, feeling insulted.

 **"Like I give a damn!" yelled back Temari. "Just hold still so I could blast you into next week!"**

 **"How about a kick** **into next week instead?" asked A.J. as she had snuck up behind the fan user and mule-kicked her in her rear while Dash's form glowed a stormy gray.**

 **"Ranton: Taifū no Jutsu (Storm Release: Typhoon)!" exclaimed the rainbow haired mare as she released a funnel of swirling light that slammed into Temari and blasted her into a tree's trunk, effectively knocking her out.**

 **"Nice one, Dash," complimented the earth pony.**

 **"Thanks. We should hurry up and help Naruto-kun."**

 **The orange mare nodded and they both hurried after their summoner, unaware that a certain avenger saw their whole scuffle with narrowed red eyes.**

Rainbow dash and Applejack shared a scowl at that. Oh...if their counterparts had known that...!

 **[Naruto vs. Gaara]**

 **"Hold still and die, Uzumaki!"**

"Yeah...about that, I'm thinking...NO!" Naruto said.

 **roared a deformed Gaara as he swung his sand claw at the blonde. Said blonde leaned back and avoided the strike while lashing out with a kick at the Jinchuriki.**

Naruto made a face of sheer disgust. He loathed the term 'Jinchuriki'! Loathed it! Loathed that dehumanizing term so much!

 **The redhead jumped back from the kick while swinging his arm and releasing a volley of sand shuriken. Naruto was quick to duck under them before he raised an arm to Gaara and unleashed his chakra chains at him. They wrapped around the Ichibi Jinchuriki's transformed arm and the Kyuubi Jinchuriki grabbed the chain with both hands before he pulled as hard as he could. Gaara was unprepared for this and Naruto was able to lift him over his head and slam him down on the ground behind him.**

Kushina grinned. She loved those chakra chains!

 **Unfortunately, the Suna Genin was able to cushion his impact with his sand before it exploded outward. Naruto lost focus on his chains and jumped away as Gaara's entire upper torso was covered in sand, making him look like a mini Bijuu complete with a single tail.**

 **"Great… Now what?" mumbled Naruto before he heard the sound of many birds chirping. He turned and saw Sasuke leap over his head and thrust a lightning incased**

"Should be E-N rather that I-N." Twilight said.

"Make her stop!" Applejack moaned while she and the others payed up...AGAIN!

 **hand at Gaara.**

"Flames and lightning...? Sheesh, Blondie was right about the overly flamboyant fighting style. It's more about "look-at-me" then it is about getting the job done." Rainbow dash said.

Naruto nodded. Sasuke liked flaunting his strongest techniques, regardless of the cost on his reserves. That'd cost him pretty heavily at the Five Kage Summit the Uchiha had attacked.

 **"Chidori (One Thousand Birds)!" cried out the Uchiha as he sliced right through Gaara's left arm and made it fall into lifeless sand. He landed behind the redhead and smirked only to have it change to a look of shock as the arm reformed back completely.**

"Don't see why the little fart's shocked. He cut off the _sand_ , not the limb it was connected to. Of course Gaara could just reattach it." Anko said.

 **"Not god enough, Uchiha," Gaara stated as he used his tail to smack the avenger aside and into a tree. "Now stay out of this fight! Uzumaki will help prove my existence here and now!"**

 **"Ranton: Reizā Sākasu (Laser Circus)!" cried out Dash as she flew in front of Naruto and released a beam that split into five and struck Gaara's arms, legs, and chest. The resulting strike pushed him back into the woods while a recovered Sasuke called on his Curse Mark and leapt after him.**

 **"You alright, Naruto?" asked A.J. as she landed beside him and took a quick look over.**

 **"Yea, I'm fine. Listen, I want you girls to keep Sasuke out of the way. I may not like him, but he's still a member of the Leaf."**

"Can't we just let Gaara eat him? Please! Let Gaara eat him! If his ego means that much more to him than his life, I say let Gaara eat him!" Rainbow dash snapped, practically begging.

 **Dash narrowed her eyes. "You plan on fighting Gaara alone, don't you?"**

 **"That was my intention," confessed the blonde**

Naruto sighed. Damn that over-developed sense of self-reliance sometimes. He had those he could count on, and he was gonna push them away?

 **before he was pinned to the tree by the pegasus as she transformed into her human form.**

 **"Like hell you are!" she yelled at him, making his eyes widen. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch you fight when I _know_ I could help you! You don't have to fight alone, Naruto!" Her angered eyes softened as her tone turned whispery. "You're not alone…"**

 **Naruto looked to her with guilt at her words. "Dash, I-"**

Minato stopped and blinked, eyes wide. He read ahead a bit to himself and then turned to look at Rainbow dash. "Are you serious?" he asked, then shook his head in sheer disbelief. "I'n not reading this...can't do it..." he said.

"Then give it here!" his wife said, snatching the book, "Oh!...Ooooooooh! Ha! Well...no wonder!" Kushina laughed, sounding diabolical. Then eagerly started reading aloud.

 **That was as far as he got before she leaned in and kissed him fully on the lips, making his and A.J.'s eyes widen in shock.**

 **"DIE!"** the sheer satanic roar bellowed, issuing from Hinata's mouth as the heiress lunged at the pegasus, who yelped and dove out of the way just as a palm enshrouded in chakra shaped like the head of a lion crashed where Rainbow dash's head had been a second ago.

 _ **"KILL! KILL!"**_

"Stop her!"

Naruto quickly became engulfed in golden flames that grew exponentially. The flames then took shape and gained black markings, presenting itself in the form of a massive golden fox with nine tails before the ethereal fox slammed a fist-like frontal paw on Hinata, sinking her body into a crater, with a smaller crater inside it shaped like the girl's body.

After Naruto undid his transformation, Ino used her Mind Transfer to enter Hinata's body for a minute before returning to her own.

"She's only out cold, but sheesh...even Obito didn't have that much hate in him! The sheer jealousy shattered her mind so that she didn't care about it just being in the book! She legitimately thought Rainbow dash made out with Naruto and wanted her dead!"

"Hey, these guys aren't summons and it's my first time meeting any of them!" Naruto said.

"We know! But like you said, knowing is independent of caring! Hinata's mind just stopped processing things and reacted solely on base instincts and desires. She was that stunned and couldn't cope!" Ino said.

"...I-i-i-is it..." Rainbow dash gulped, coming out of her room, "...is it dead?..."

"Hinata's not rampaging anymore, Dash. You'll live." Sunset assured her friend.

"You sure? 'Cause if it tries killing me again..."

"Stop calling Hinata an "it"!" Kiba snapped.

"Easy for you to say! You weren't the one it was going all psycho-demonic on and trying to murder!"

The other members of Team Eight all shared a glance. Hard to argue with that.

"Fair point." Shino admitted reluctantly.

It was right then that everyone recalled what set Hinata off as Kushina again started reading.

 **Dash kept pouring all her emotions into the lip lock and slowly Naruto reciprocated the action. Her hands moved to his whiskered cheeks and caressed them while she moved back from the kiss.**

Naruto groaned and buried his cherry-red face into his hands.

"Rarity...where's Tom?" Rainbow dash asked suddenly.

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again!" the white unicorn hissed tightly.

"Uh...Tom?" Sakura asked, "Old boyfriend?"

"Nope. Huge boulder. Rarity was brainwashed once, convinced that cheap rock was a bon fide diamond. Named it Tom." Applejack snickered.

"Shut up!" Rarity snapped, face twitching and looking deranged.

"Ooooh-kkkkaaayyy...huge boulder. What do you want with it?" Choji asked.

"That's easy...I wanna curl up under it and die." the cyan flyer stated as though it were obvious, face just as red as Naruto's was.

 **With a caring smile she stated, "You're not in this alone, Naruto-kun. Let us fight with you."**

 **His blue eyes turned to A.J. and the mare nodded with determination burning in her eyes. With a sigh, he smiled and replied, "Alright, we'll do this together. Now let's hurry up and keep Sasuke from getting himself killed."**

"Stopping Gaara I get, but do we have to save the creep?" Applejack muttered.

 **They nodded and, after Dash changed back, the trio rushed through the treetops before they reached the scene of Sasuke being backhanded by Gaara's sand arm and smacking into another tree.**

"I pity the tree." Applejack said.

"I still vote we let Gaara eat him!" Rainbow dash grumbled.

 **Gaara's eyes turned to them and a blood crazed grin etched across his face. "Finally decided to stop hiding, Uzumaki?"**

 **The blonde didn't answer him and instead went through some very complex handseals. "Dash, A.J., get ready," he warned them, making them nod. "Pay attention Gaara. This is a technique used by the woman who taught me true strength. This…is her legacy! Hyōton: Makyō Hyōshō (Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals)!"**

Kakashi and Sakura's eyes widened. They had no trouble recognizing that technique!

"Hmm...wondered when the other me would bust that out." Naruto mused. Part of him had been wondering about that since him having Haku's Ice Style was mentioned.

 **From nothing but the unseen water in the air, twenty-one mirrors made entirely of ice were formed around Gaara; twelve being ground level, eight a level above them and angled toward the ground, and the last acting as the ceiling of the dome.**

 **Naruto and the mares stepped up to a mirror and, to the eyes of Gaara and the barely conscious Sasuke, they sunk into the mirror. In the others, their reflections were seen; the three of them taking seven mirrors each. "It's over, Gaara," echoed Naruto's voice as his reflections took out a kunai that had a seal tag on it.**

"Chakra sword again, huh?" Shikamaru asked.

"Know a better way to bypass Gaara's defense?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. Fair point.

 **"Give up while you still have a chance." Gaara snarled at the blonde, giving him his response. Regret was seen in the Uzumaki's eyes as he muttered, "So be it…"**

 **The next thing the redhead felt was pain. Blows struck him from every direction coupled with slashes that left no cuts, but made his sand fall off. The blows hit hard and some had left seeds planted into the sand before it fell to the ground. Other blows left shocks into his system, making it difficult to move.**

 **After what felt like hours, but was actually around three minutes, the blows stopped and the mirrors were filled once again. "Had enough?" asked Dash with narrowed eyes.**

 **Gaara gave the mirrors a murderous glare as the sand attempted to return to its host. "S-Shut up!" he raged. "This strength… That power… Where do you get it from?! How are you stronger than me when I have nothing holding me back?!"**

 **A.J. shook her head sadly. "That there's the problem," she started. "You don't have anyone to help you; to rely on. You can't do everything alone."**

Sunset Shimmer winced "...Know how that feels..." she muttered dejectedly.

 **"You see," Naruto continued, "it's the bonds and love we have between us and the ones we hold dear that fuel us; that drive us to push past our limits. We beat you because of this bond while you severed all of them."**

 **"You haven't won yet!" countered Gaara as his pupils slowly began to leave his eyes.**

 **The trio saw this, and A.J. replied, "Yes we have. Mokuton: Saku Ringo-en (Blooming Apple Orchard)!"**

Applejack growled. She wanted Wood Style! Lucky alternate self!

 **From the seeds, trees began to erupt and wrap around Gaara in a subjugating way. The branches wrapped around his arms while the trunk engulfed his legs and torso. The redhead felt his chakra get siphoned out of him while the trees began to produce yellow apples with blue leaves.**

"Chakra fruit..." Naruto shook his head, recalling Kaguya.

 **Once big enough, the apples fell and instantly rotted upon touching the forest floor.**

 **When Gaara was left with the bare minimum amount of chakra, the tree sank back into the ground while the ice mirrors shattered and revealed the trio standing next to one another. Naruto gazed at the weakened Jinchuriki sadly as he began to walk toward him.**

 **Gaara noticed this and fear entered his eyes. "Stay back! I won't let you erase my existence!"**

"I don't want to erase you, Gaara." Naruto said sadly.

 **"The loneliness… It's unbearable, isn't it?" asked the blonde, getting everyone's attention. "I've known this loneliness for most of my life. Family and friends were nothing more than dreams to me. My parents are dead and I was hated for the burden you and I share." Tears threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes as he continued, "I found out that I could've had a family; a whole clan that could've raised me. But I was unlucky enough to be born alone. At least you have people who still love you and care for you from the very beginning. I only just started having a 'family' about two months ago…"**

Naruto and his parents winced.

 **Gaara looked into the eyes of his fellow Jinchuriki and saw despair, pain, and pure loneliness in the blue orbs. But, beneath all that was a glimmer of hope and faith.**

 **"Be thankful for what you have, Gaara… Family will never betray you so long as you don't betray them. Because in the end, they will be all you have left," finished the Uzumaki as Temari and Kankuro landed next to Gaara with their weapons drawn.**

 **"No…" whispered Gaara, making them turn to him. "No more fighting… I just want to go home."**

 **The older two Suna Siblings looked to one another before they gave soft gazes to their youngest brother. "Sure thing, Gaara," Kankuro said before he hefted Gaara onto his back. With one final look towards Naruto, he left toward Suna.**

 **Temari kept her gaze on her fellow blonde with confusion written all over her eyes. Naruto stared her down before she gave a small smirk and nodded. "Don't slack off, Whiskers. I plan to have a rematch someday." Her smirk then turned into a smile of gratitude and she finished, "And thank you… I never thought I'd ever get my baby brother back."**

 **She then left the area as well while Naruto smiled and whispered to no one, "You're welcome…"**

"Well...Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack...I have to say this. I'm well aware of these events happening in the alternate reality of the book, but in light of the fact that if it had been the actual versions of yourselves, you would have acted no differently when there were innocent people in need of aid...I'm so proud of all of you!" Celestia beamed, her sister nodding.

Sunset Shimmer sighed and hung her head. Sure, she couldn't deny the alternate selves of her friends had done amazing and important things, that they deserved the praise, and sure she was proud and happy for all of them.

She knew it couldn't be helped, that her own alternate had yet to even make an appearance, and when she did, it most likely wouldn't be a good one, but still...her old mentor telling them that...

She felt...jealous.

 **[Konoha (Two Days Later)]**

 **Naruto gazed on with a torn expression as the funeral for the Sandaime went on.**

Tsunade, The Rookie Eleven, and the collective Jonin all winced.

 **On one hand, he was crushed that the Old Man had died and was enraged that Orochimaru took him down. On the other hand, he was angry with Hiruzen for lying to him for so long. So, he shed no tears for the man and chose to simply remember him as the revered village leader. The man he once called Jiji died long before the Sandaime did.**

 **And with the death of the Sandaime came another step towards the thought of leaving Konoha for good.**

"Leaving Konoha for good...?" Naruto repeated with a stunned expression. His other planned on doing that?! Everyone else looked at him, lost for words.

With a snap, the book was closed and everyone in the group of twenty-nine—Naruto, Shino, Sai, Choji, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, Might Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Anko, Minato, and Kushina, along with Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Chrysalis, and Sunset Shimmer—all agreed it was a good idea that they'd decided on taking a break from the book after this.


	7. Chapter 7

After the group made their way back to the suites, Sunset closed the door to their room and turned to see Naruto sitting on the bed, looking depressed.

"Feeling alright?" she asked.

"How'd you think I feel hearing about that better version of myself? The more that counterpart of mine accomplishes, the more of a failure I feel like." Naruto sighed.

Sunset Shimmer winced. So he felt like he measured up short compared to some alternate version of himself? That certainly didn't sound pleasant at all. Failing at being yourself? How did a person get over that? She sat down next to him. Just great...she still had a lot to learn about friendship, and she was having to deal with this kind of problem. How could she help with a problem like this?

She sighed. There just had to be something she could do to snap him out of this funk he was in. She sat down next to him.

"Darling...all I can say about that is you take a moment to look at all of the good you've done without the gifts your story-self has. I mean, so there are more things at the disposal of your other? Did that stop you from pulling off those same accomplishments?"

Naruto frowned, looking thoughtful. "Well...no."

"So what's the problem?" Sunset asked.

"I..." he sighed, "I just hate it. I hate when other people have to run risks for me. What if they have to because I'm not strong enough, and then it costs them? That's already happened to me and I hate it. All I want is the people I care about to be safe, but how can that happen if they have to put themselves in harm's way for my sake? That's always eating at me."

"So when you see how much your alternate self can do, it seems he has to worry about that a lot less." Sunset summed up with a wince, that _was_ pretty nasty. No wonder he was so down on himself.

Naruto sighed and nodded, "Exactly. So how can't I feel like I'm not good enough?"

Sunset Shimmer looked at the downtrodden young man, she could see why that would leave him feeling inferior. This was deeper then just his confidence. Seeing his alternate's level of ability had drudged up memories that left him doubting his own right to have the ability to fulfill his own sense of purpose. If he really HAD to deal with others paying the price when they risked themselves for his sake when the people he cared about were his life and how protecting them was his purpose, it would be a pretty brutal thing to experience.

Sunset thought for a bit on what to do, how to get through to him. There had to be something.

"Darling...tell me something," the light amber girl said at last.

"Hm? What is it?" Naruto asked, too in thought to think about how he was answering to what she was calling him. But he had the feeling that even if he asked her not to, she'd keep referring to him as "Darling" anyway. So it was going to be one of those things he'd just have to suck up and get used to.

"When you were fighting to protect the ones you care about, were even willing to go to the point of no return for, did you ever think they weren't worth caring about enough to go that far?"

"What?! No! Never! I wouldn't do that!" he said, shocked by what she was saying.

"Then why wouldn't the reverse be true and the people that were out to protect you feel like _you_ were worth going that far for?"

Naruto winced. "But..."

"But nothing." she told him, "caring about others is something that goes both ways, right? How can you decide how much they should care about you? So since you can't, why won't you accept there are people that care about you that much?"

Naruto winced, true as that was... "...You ever have anyone die for your sake?" Naruto asked grimly.

"Excuse me?" Sunset shimmer asked.

"You heard me! Has anyone had to die for your sake?"

"Well...no..." Sunset shimmer said.

"Then how can you understand why I feel like such a failure compared to that other me?!" Naruto shouted.

"Because I have people I would rather die than lose!" Sunset Shimmer shouted back at him, bolting to her feet, her body suddenly trembling.

"You think I haven't been hated by just about everyone around me?! You think I don't know what it's like to want to be given a chance to show a side of yourself that's good?! Or how much it means to have others show you that much good faith?! I've been there! That kind of utterly pitch-black, isolated Hell that makes you feel as though it'd be better for everyone if you just didn't exist at all in the first place! I know that being alone sucks more than I'd like. Here's what I know from having to go through all that: When you're surrounded by the darkness of the heart, having people that you care about and care about you in turn is like being able to clutch a star in your bare hands. You've already learned that lesson! It's obvious to anyone that knows what to look for! I know how afraid you are of going back in the dark because you lost the people you care about or had them taken from you! Difference between us is, I actually did things that _earned_ that contempt! And you know what? I _still_ found those who were willing to be there for me and find my place in the sun! I know how much you're terrified of losing those bonds because of that!"

With that, she waved and a free-floating theater screen appeared and as Naruto watched, it showed Sunset Shimmer's entire life from the point she was first chosen to be her student, finding the mirror portal, the arguments with Celestia, leaving her own reality and finding herself in the dimension of Canterlot High School, the way she treated everyone there, the theft of Twilight's crown, the Fall Formal Festival where Sunset had turned into a fire demoness, how the Mane Six had still accepted and helped her, Sunset's attempts to try making things right in spite of being hated by everyone around her, the plot from the trio of Sirens, then the with Crystal Prep Academy and how Sci-Twi Sparkle (the human counterpart of Twilight Sparkle) turned into Nightmare Sparkle.

When it stopped and the screen vanished, Sunset glared at him, tears running down her face, "You wanna know why I can't stand Sasuke? He's exactly like the way I was before! You think I'm PROUD of that?! Every time I see how he is, it's like my past mistakes are laughing at me, right in my face!"

Then she sighed and hugged herself, "I know what it's like to have people that you mean something to—people that mean _everything to you!"_ she took a deep breath and looked at him. "I understand you, Darling, I've been where you are, and I'm still there. Why do you think I ended up here in the first place? I couldn't stand it...not knowing if they were ok or not...my friends, my precious people, my guiding stars in the darkness...I had to know they were all right. Sure my doing it could've killed me...but dying would be better then loosing any of them. Some choices aren't choices at all."

Naruto stared at her, at a loss for words.

"Tell me...do you think there were people in your life you didn't give that same kind of light to? Why do you think they chose to fight for you the way you fought for them? Answer me that." she said.

Naruto swallowed, then nodded. He saw her point.

She hung her head and sat down on the bed next to him, "Compare me to Sasuke...compare me to Gaara...its all the same to me. I just want a chance to show I'm not that...that raging she-demon anymore...a fair chance to prove I've changed, that I'm in a much better place now."she sighed, then turned a bit more upbeat.

"I decided to pick myself up and move forward and make a future I could be proud of rather than throw it all away and let my past define who I am. I understand why you feel like you're not good enough to measure up to someone else who seems so capable, even your own alternate self, but ask yourself this: do the people you care about see you as good enough? Because how can you be there for them if you feel you failed yourself? Why not prove if you have the time to beat yourself up over what you aren't, you have the time to be the kind of person your friends know they can count on? First step to that is being proud of yourself and what you _can_ and _have_ accomplished in your own way rather than being some cookie cutter of another person, right?" she asked. "I'll be the first to admit I'm not proud of how I was in the past...but I know that I've still got the chance to make something I _can_ be proud of out of my future." she turned to give him a faint smile. "That's one of the other things about us I can see is the same."

Naruto took a deep breath and gave her a small, sideways smile of his own. "Thanks...Sunset Shimmer."

He meant that.

Naruto was caught off guard as he was suddenly caught in the light, brilliant opal aura of Sunset Shimmer's usual magic and he lost control of his body.

Sunset Shimmer grinned as she turned his head toward her and kissed him.

Right.

On.

The.

Lips.

Naruto's eyes went huge as he felt something brush against his bottom lip, and realized it was Sunset's tongue. It probed around his lips teasingly. With her spell in place, she could grant herself entry on a whim, and they both knew it, but she wanted to have some fun first.

Naruto started to sweat. This was crazy! Sunset's antics until now, he could handle...but _this_?! WAY outside of his frame of being ok with! Sure it was a HELL of a lot better than his last "kiss", but still!

The teasing muscle then ran along his lips, left to right, then right to left. Then stopped in the center of his lips and forced it's way inside his mouth. Naruto let out a garbled, strangled cry as Sunset swished around in his mouth, trying to get everywhere she could. The sides of her tongue slamming back and forth against the inside of his teeth, then the top of her tongue slammed up against the roof of his mouth and started rubbing back and fourth on the roof of his mouth as the kiss went on.

Eventually Sunset Shimmer broke the kiss and ran a thumb over Naruto's cheek fondly with a small smile.

"You're welcome...Darling." she giggled, sashaying into another part of the suite as the aura around him vanished and he could move again.

 **Heheheh...well...that was an interesting little drama! You and her could make quite a bit working for a soap opera!**

Naruto jumped at the sudden voice and frantically looked around for a moment, only to realize he'd heard the vibrations inside his skull, not the regular sound picked up by his ears...and he knew the voice!

 _'...You gotta be kidding! NOW you speak up...?!'_

 **Could have...but it wouldn't have been as amusing until just now! Hahaha!**

 _'...I'm starting to miss your "I'm going to kill-and/or-eat-you" speeches from before!'_

 **Oh, now that's just mean! Ahahahahah!**

 _'SHUT UP...!'_

Kurama just laughed harder at that.

* * *

Twilight took a moment to look around Shikamaru's room. It was the first time she'd seen any of the other rooms then the main room, her own room, or the mess hall.

The ceiling was decorated with a blue-and-white mosaic like a cloudy sky. The cloud tiles shifted across the ceiling, constantly moving, changing, and darkening like the actual sky. Rather than paper or paint, the walls were covered in deer fur that was seemlessly attached to the walls, and there were columns topped with flame-filled braziers in each of the suite's corners, making flickering shadows that danced along all over the rooms...just perfect for a shadow-user.

There was a room with a pair of shrines in it, one was to a man that looked so much like Shikamaru that he had to be his father, the other was dedicated to a tall man, with brown eyes, olive skin, short black spiky hair, and a beard. His clothing consisted of the standard Konoha ninja uniform with the sleeves rolled up halfway, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and forehead protector. He also wore a sash that had the kanji for "Fire" marked on it around his waist, a pair of black bangles, and bandages wrapped around the arms of his sleeves.

Seemed the man was important to Shikamaru.

The other room was the closet and bathroom area, and the wing across from that had a coffee table with a pair of beanbag seats on either side of it, and a stand shelf filled with game boards and game pieces off to one side in the room. Finally, there was a fully-adjustable bed in each of the suite's wings. One look at that fact told that Shikamaru LOVED to sleep.

One half-hearted wave and the flames in the braziers all grew brighter so the whole suite was filled with steady, bright light as if there were electric fluorescents rather than flames and he sat down in one of the beanbag chairs at the coffee table.

"Gotta admit...Sunset Shimmer did pretty well with the rooms. Trust me...never had to fight so hard to get outta bed in my life. And coming from me, that's saying A LOT!" the Nara said, setting up the shogi game. "Fact that every piece of furniture in here has a full-body, wave-motion magic-finger massage feature and auto-adjustment temperature settings doesn't really help in wanting to get up..." he sighed wistfully, "God...the thought that I'll never sleep this good again is one of the most troublesome things ever!"

"Oh yeah...can't leave this dimension we're all in until we finish that book." Twilight said. "Naruto's most likely enjoying that this place is making people want to destroy the book more than anyone else out of the rest of us."

Shikamaru smirked, "Figures. He's got more reasons than anybody to want that book gone so we all stay here. You be surprised if it turns into a fight to read the last page?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head, "To be honest, I'm surprised he let us read the first _word_ of page one, never mind up to chapter seven like we've gotten. Especially before Sunset Shimmer arrived and made it so he couldn't get his hands on the book."

"You too, eh? Guess it's a good thing for us she's developed enjoying being in his lap when we're reading, then." he chuckled.

"That depends on who you ask. Surprised Hinata managed to keep it together up until now." the lavender girl said.

Shikamaru laughed, "Too true."

Twilight looked at the bord and her mind instantly started working in overdrive, all the potential patterns and how the pieces could go (the game was like chess after all), considering all the moves Shikamaru could possibly make.

"Checkmate." Twilight said, finishing her mental simulations.

"Checkmate." Shikamaru said, looking at the board as if he were thinking about something.

The two then met gazes and realized that they'd been thinking the exact same things. They both looked at the logical thing, the tactical move. Planned every move in advance. For how similar they were, they might as well be playing against their own reflection in a mirror!

This was going to take a while.

* * *

Kiba wasn't surprised when he found Akamaru in the mess hall with Fluttershy. Or that she was feeding his partner a barbecue sauce-slathered, glazed honey-baked ham to sooth his love of meat. She was an animal-lover to the absolute core...which was just fine by him!

Turning his head, he saw the clones Naruto had left to guard the mess hall and raised an eyebrow before pointing a thumb at Fluttershy and Akamaru.

One of the clones shrugged, "Fluttershy's too nice, for starters. Orders are to look out for Choji, second of all, and third, you try saying 'no' when Akamaru's hungry...that Wolf Fang-Over-Fang's nasty no matter how many heads it's got."

The Inuzuka chuckled as he turned back to his partner and the transformed pegasus. Damn...that was amusing. Sucked for Choji, though. Course, he understood point number three pretty easy. His mom was a firm believer in teaching by experiencing...he shuddered at that. No wonder pops had took off...

Watching how happy Akamaru was, lapping sauce off his chops as Fluttershy scratched him behind hie ears and along his belly at the same time with one hand each, he had to wonder how she'd do working alongside Hana in the vet clinic back home. Seemed she'd love it. The fact that she was so much like Hinata (at least when the heiress wasn't rabid with a fit of jealous rage) just seemed to make her easier for him to say there was something that made her seem easier to deal with for the young man.

Akamaru turned and saw Kiba, then barked to him. Bringing Fluttershy's attention to him. She instantly let out an "Eep" and jumped back and away.

Kiba chuckled, book was right...she was adorable.

"Hey...it's all right. You're good to Akamaru, so why would I object?" he asked. "You're good enough for Akamaru, I trust his judgement."

Akamaru barked and Fluttershy relaxed.

Kiba shook his head. She was just a girl—a seriously cute, kind girl that loved animals...whoa there, Kiba had to bite the inside of his cheek. _'Whoa...slow down there!'_ he mentally scolded himself. He'd seen her actual self, that she was a horse—a pony!—her current form was just a transformation, it'd wear off! But why did that disappoint him?

"Thank you." she said, then went back to Akamaru, much to the dog's enjoyment. Call him spoiled, but, being a dog, he liked being with someone who was such an animal-lover.

"I just hope we get out of here soon, I'm worried about how many volunteers there are at the animal shelter back home, it's heart-breaking to think about that there's animals that can't help themselves. I just can't stand that, but how can I help if we're stuck here?"

She helped out at animal shelters? He found that great. He had to admit he felt he could She was cute, kind, loved animals, and was pretty much exactly the kind of individual his mom and sister had always warned him to be careful about. He'd never taken that seriously, why should he? "Take it you have a lot of pets?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Why did he feel so weird right now? This wasn't like him.

Fluttershy smiled, "Understatement, actually. Every pony...er...everyone, I mean, that knows me back home says my home is more of a zoo. Every kind of living animal you can think of...I can't help it, I just love animals," then she turned somber, "it makes me worried about them all until we get out of here. No one's there to take care of them...I can't stand it if they all start thinking they've been abandoned." she looked down, depressed at the sheer thought.

A thud drew her attention to Kiba again and saw he'd slammed a fist on one of the tables, looking outraged. "Uh..."

"Sorry...I just...don't ever even _mention_ animal abandonment around me...I just..." Kiba snarled, furiously. "Makes me furious that someone would do that!" he said.

Fluttershy started to tremble, causing Akamaru to growl at his master. _'Great, I scared her! Great job, doofus!'_ Kiba mentally scolded himself.

Fluttershy then surprised him by actually scowling as she nodded, "I know what you mean. What did those animals do that made them deserve that? It's horrible. I can't stand it."

Kiba nodded, then smiled in a way that–in his mind–was roguishly dashing and charming. "In that case, leave it to me! I'll make sure we finish that book ASAP and you can get back to those animals that need you!" he said, pointing a thumb at himself.

Fluttershy giggled, then surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a light peck on his cheek. Kiba suddenly froze ramrod straight and felt glad for the fang markings painted on his cheeks and their color especially–the red color hid his blush!

"Thank you, Kiba." she said, then walked back to her room. Kiba staring

Akamaru walked up next to Kiba and watched as Fluttershy left, then turned to his human.

"What're you looking at?" Kiba snapped at his canine partner, still red in the face.

Akamaru barked happily and made a sound almost like painting, making Kiba go redder. Akamaru was _laughing!_

"Wha...I do NOT!" the Inuzuka denied hotly.

* * *

 _ **"WHAT– HOW– WHAT?!"**_

Kushina and Minato jerked up in bed. Both looking shocked.

Kushina grinned. So...she still had a slight connection to Kurama, huh? And so did Minato? Oh, this was interesting! But not _nearly_ as much as the message Kurama had sent through to them. He'd been laughing too much to be very coherent, but he had shown them a bubble of his chakra that showed a third-person view of the scene that lead up to the kiss.

Minato kept repeating "Hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina." over and over again. He was too stunned for anything else.

The redhead bit her lip. Ho, she was liking this! Of course, she'd have to deal with how fast it was going. If it went too quickly, it could crash and burn right to disappointment. She liked Sunset, but she'd need to make sure that didn't happen to her boy. Call it her duty as a mother.

She and Sunset were gonna need to talk before getting back to the book.


	8. Chapter 8

The first sound that greeted Naruto and Sunset Shimmer was a hammering on their room's door and Sunset—being the more of a light sleeper and early riser of the two **—** went to get it and paled instantly at who it was.

"We need to talk." Kushina said to the other redhead, then yanked Sunset into her and Minato's suite, pushing her husband out of the room, explaining it by needing to have a bit of "Girl Talk" with Sunset Shimmer.

As soon as the door shut, Kushina turned to Celestia's old student. "So...since I've never been good at beating around the bush...Kurama told me what you did." the woman said.

Sunset's jaw dropped. Kurama told...?! AW CRAP!

"How did...?! Oh man...don't tell me...resonance echos...?! Miss. Kushina, I-I can explain!"

Kushina narrowed her eyes. "Oh? You can, huh? Well then...start talking, and it BETTER be good." the mother warned.

Sunset looked straight into the violet eyes of the mother of the young man she called "Darling". Through that look, she did her best to convey her feelings on the question. "I'll admit that me kissing him was a spur of the moment," she began while Kushina crossed her arms, "but I won't say that I'm sorry I did, or that I regret it."

"But why my son?" the revived Uzumaki matriarch pressed.

"Because I felt something between us before I took the lead and made it physical." She blushed as she remembered the kiss. "He and I are similar in that we've had troubled lives; though I know that his was harder than mine. We both know what it was like to be alone, to have no one there for us, and to feel a sense of fading hope. I'll admit that my situation was because of my own mistakes, so it's not as significant; but that doesn't mean that the connection I felt with your son wasn't significant and genuine."

Kushina frowned. "Go on..."

Sunset took a breath to gather her thoughts. "That connection... It started off small, but it grew so fast that it honestly scared me. I felt this compelling need to understand it; to see what made it so important that it took precedence over everything else. And when I did find out," she smiled softly, her eyes gaining a slightly far off look, "it made me feel special. How was it that someone like me, who made many mistakes in her life, found herself wanting to bond with this person who made something of himself through sheer will and effort? I found myself quickly endeared to him and the way he made me feel; which is why I called him 'Darling' so soon."

The Uzumaki had a brow raised while her arms remained crossed over her chest. "So...you're saying that you became infatuated with my son so readily? Just like," she snapped her fingers, "that?"

The transformed mare winced at the disbelieving tone. "I know it sounds like an excuse, or something that shouldn't be true...but I swear to you that I'm not lying. I... I want to be there for Naruto. I want to be beside him through whatever he struggles or strides through, to share in his triumphs and help him recover from his failings, and...above everything else...I want to be a reason that he will never stop smiling; a REAL smile and not the mask he had to wear. I had the opportunity to see him for who he really is...and I can't stop myself from loving every bit of it; from loving him."

She took a couple of breaths as she finished, laying everything out on the table for Kushina. Her heart was pounding and her nerves jittery as she watched the stoic expression of the woman not even so much as twitch; as if it was stubbornly on the fence between outrage and acceptance. There was no turning back now; not after her confession.

"Well, Sunset," Kushina said, "All I can say to that is...Go for it!"

"HUH?!" Sunset cried. This...wasn't what she was expecting at all! Disapproval, yes. But not having Naruto's mom actually root for her!

"I was afraid Naruto would end up with that Sakura girl." Kushina explained, to which Sunset scowled. "I noticed that you're not the first to see the nature of my son's character and fall for him because of it—Hinata, for example, heck knows Naruto would have a better time losing his own shadow than her with how much she acts like a stalker around him!" Kushina said, rolling her eyes playfully. "You will need to slow down a bit...go too fast and it could crash and burn. I won't have that with my son. Got it?" the mother said seriously.

Sunset Shimmer nodded.

"Good then...one last thing, this is important: I WANT LOTS OF GRANDBABIES!

"What?!" Sunset cried, utterly shocked.

"Well, with hips like yours, they would probably pop right out!" Kushina laughed.

Sunset went red in the face. If her jaw wasn't firmly attached to her skull, it would've hit the ground and she was pretty sure steam was coming out of her ears like a teakettle, "Uh...gotta go!" she cried, then bolted, leaving Kushina to laugh her head off at how embarrassed the transformed mare was.

Slamming the door on her way out, Sunset leaned against it, huffing and puffing as she clutched at her heart, trying to calm down.

"That woman is insufferable!" she huffed at last, sliding down the door to sit on the floor, then saw Minato smiling down at her.

"Had a chat with Kushina?" Minato asked, grinning knowingly.

"How did you deal with her?" Sunset asked.

Minato shrugged. "I'll let you know when I've got the answer to that."

Sunset groaned and threw her hands up and made her way to the mess hall to eat with the others, and while (to Hinata's delight) she did give Naruto a bit of space, red-faced the entire time, she at least managed to convince him to go with a breakfast sandwich; a veggie egg white omelet with a slice of white cheddar cheese, served on a multigrain flatbread, and a mango smoothie, as opposed to ramen.

After eating, everyone went back to the main room and took there spots again, though the others did notice that Sunset was a bit reluctant and akaward to take up Naruto's lap this time.

Minato gave his wife a look. Already knowing she was the culprit.

"I'll read." Sakura said, taking the book.

 **Chapter 7: Contemplation**

 **"So, that's it," Kakashi declared to his students as they stood before him in their training field. "Until we figure out who the next Hokage will be, most of the Jonin will be busy outside of the village, leaving Chunin and Genin to handle internal village missions."**

 **"Any idea on who the Godaime will be?" asked Sakura curiously.**

"More than just an idea." Naruto smirked, as did the rest of the Konoha half of the group, while Tsunade groaned.

 **"That won't be revealed until the Council can come up with an agreed decision."**

 **"What about the Exams? With them interrupted in the invasion, we won't know if anyone was promoted," Sasuke added, wondering whether or not he made the cut.**

"That's his biggest concern?" Celestia asked incredulously. After everything that happened, Sasuke was only concerned about his rank?!

Everyone else sighed.

Naruto shook his head, thinking about Sasuke's "original self", Indra Otsutsuki.

Ironic that "Indra" literally meant "King of Gods" considering his obsession with how he believed power and force could achieve anything, even peace...he shared that mindset with his grandmother, Kaguya. Though his body was destroyed, Indra's chakra continued to exist. His chakra reincarnated into various individuals throughout history, and his reincarnations would also inherit his will. Figured that a person like that would shrug off that kind of a disaster and would place a bigger concern on his own status and self-interests.

Within his mind, Naruto heard Kurama snort. **"And you wonder why Old Man Six Paths chose Asura as** **Ninshū's successor...Indra always did make the nine of us and the rest of the world around him sick."**

 _'Don't gotta tell me that...Madara was MORE than bad enough, and he was a watered-down version of Indra!'_ Naruto told the kitsune in response, to which Kurama readily agreed.

 **Kakashi shrugged in response and answered, "I assume the Council will discuss that as well. Just be patient and see what happens."**

 **The Uchiha and Haruno nodded while Naruto merely gave a soft sigh. "Is that all, sensei? I have some things to get done today that need my attention."**

 **"Yes, that'll be all; but I want to talk to you for a minute, Naruto." The blonde sighed again while his teammates left the training field. "Are you doing alright, Naruto? I know that the Sandaime and you were close, but—"**

 **"Not as close as you might think, sensei. To me, his passing is just another example of how dangerous our jobs can be; especially the position of Kage."**

Naruto winced. As true as that was, it was still a cold thing to say. blast it, other him!

"They are similar, but not exact...my preference is for the original version." Sunset mused.

 **The Jonin sighed at that. "I suppose that's one way to look at it. Still, if you want to talk about it, I'm here." The Uzumaki nodded, and he gave a small eye smile. "Good… Now, I wanted to give you something as both an apology and as a reward for a good job during the invasion."**

 **Raising a brow, Naruto took the scrolls that were offered to him; one being green bordered and the other being blue. "What are these?"**

 **"They hold jutsu that fall under your elemental affinities of wind and water. I have no ice elemental jutsu,**

"Even with how you clashed with Nadare Rōga way back in the day before you became our teacher?" Naruto asked.

Minato and Kushina looked at the Jonin, who gulped and motioned for Sakura to keep reading.

 **so I can't get you anything for it."**

 **"That's alright," reassured the blonde. "Thanks for this, sensei."**

 **The silverette man merely gave his student another eye smile and dismissive wave. "Think nothing of it. Each scroll holds one jutsu that should be good to add to your repertoire. Be sure to practice them and get them down so that I can brag about my student."**

 **The blonde shook his head with a small chuckle as his sensei left in a Shunshin. "Typical Jonin… Wanting the credit for his student's work."**

"Well...what's wrong with a teacher being proud of their students?" Celestia asked, causing both Sunset and Twilight to blush.

 **He then opened up the two scrolls and looked them over; one of them already making him smile slightly. "Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden in the Mist), huh? I wonder if I could pull off Zabuza's silent killing with enough practice." He then looked to the wind jutsu and frowned in thought. "Hanachiri Mai (Flower Scattering Dance)… Wonder what this one does…"**

 **Deciding that the only way to figure it out was to try it out, he slowly went through the handseal sequence until it became easily memorable. He then focused on one of the training posts and flew through the seals while flaring his chakra. As he called out the name, he felt the wind pick up and saw hundreds of cherry blossoms get swirled into a twister. The technique sent the twister toward the post like a drill and the blonde saw it be engulfed in the pink blossoms.**

Naruto's jaw dropped. Oh man...that was one of the jutsu that psycho chick Fuka who wanted to absorb his soul by French kissing him had used!

 **When the jutsu passed through the post, his blue eyes widened slightly as he saw the wooden stake littered in cuts that made it look like it went through a shredder. He whistled in appreciation and murmured, "Thanks for the apology, Kakashi…"**

 **[Council Chambers]**

 **A certain super perverted sage  
**

"Ugh...can someone PLEASE castrate that guy?!" Sunset shimmer groaned in frustration. The other females all nodded in agreement.

 **sighed in boredom as he leaned against the wall and listened to the meeting between the members of the Council. They began with talk of the damage, casualties, costs for repair, and now they were getting to the topic of the interrupted Exams.**

 **"I believe that there were quite a few Genin who deserve to be brought up to the next step of their careers," Akamichi Chouza declared. "While some may not have been in the finals, they still showed that they have what it takes when they helped defend the Leaf."**

 **"And who exactly caught your eye, Akamichi-sama?" asked a civilian member in a bored tone. Shinobi affairs were none of his concern, so he just wanted to leave and supervise the reconstruction of his home.**

Minato rolled his eyes. He never did like that.

 **"I believe that Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, and Uzumaki Naruto should be promoted for their performances in the exams while Inuzuka Kiba and Higurashi Tenten should be promoted for their actions during the invasion."**

 **"I agree for the most part, Chouza," Inuzuka Tsume commented. "However, I disagree with your choices in Shikamaru and my son.**

"WHAT?!" Kiba shouted. His own mom...!

 **While the Nara boy showed great tactical knowledge, he lacks any drive which is needed for the position of Chunin.**

"I miss those days..." Shikamaru sighed.

"Why's that?" Twilight asked as the Konoha half all winced, some shaking their heads.

"It was before Asuma...you know..." the shadow-user said, before his voice broke.

"Oh..." Twilight winced. figuring out why he missed the days before Asuma, whoever they were, had passed away. That was pretty nasty. Who didn't miss the days before something like that happened? "Sorry." she said.

Shikamaru grunted. "Didn't know." he said, his tone sending a clear message to drop the subject.

 **As for my own child, he's got the skill but he lacks the mentality and the knowledge needed."**

Kiba gapped. Harsh! Why was his mother...? then he remembered what Pakkun had said about him when he and Akamaru had done training with Kakashi's ninja-hounds: He lost his cool before the fight even started. He didn't bother even trying to assess his enemy's strength at all, and then he just charged in without thinking, only to self-destruct.

 **"I agree with you, Inuzuka-sama," Hyuuga Hiashi stated. "Those two are close, but they aren't quite there yet. I must admit though that the Uzumaki boy surprised me during his match. He stopped that Suna Genin's sand with a strange technique and showed incredible prowess with seals; one that acted much like the Jyuken and struck against the chakra _network_."**

 **"Indeed," Aburame Shibi agreed. "He's much more than meets the eye, and it's only logical that his sealing skills will only improve from this point forward."**

 **"That boy cannot be trusted with a position like that!" yelled out a civilian member, her green eyes blazing with anger. "What of Uchiha Sasuke? Surely he showed the skills necessary?"**

 **"While that is true," Yamanaka Inoichi began, "he still need to get that, as a shinobi, emotional control is important. He lets his anger fuel him too readily, and it causes poor judgment."**

"No kidding..." Naruto said. Sasuke letting his anger fuel him too readily, and it causes poor judgment. Just "What can I be angry about and who can I take it out on?"...that was pretty much Sasuke's mindset in a nutshell. An Avenger without something to avenge is nothing but a rabid dog without a purpose.

 **"I agree with you, Inoichi, but I also disagree with you," Nara Shikaku declared with a small yawn. He'd much rather nap now than sit in a boring meeting.**

 **"Why's that, my friend?"**

 **"While it's true that the Uchiha boy needs to learn better control over his anger, you can't deny the progress he's shown. Under Kakashi, he's improved by leaps and bounds."**

 **"While at the same time, his other two students had to fend for themselves," countered someone no one was expecting. Shimura Danzo,** **one of the three Elders,**

"I hate this already..." Naruto groaned, rubbing his temples.

 **looked directly at the Jonin Commander with a slight narrowing of his one visible eye. "You say that the Uchiha has improved under Kakashi, but what of Haruno and Uzumaki? The girl showed no other talent other than basic academy jutsu during her match against the Hyuuga heiress.**

Sakura hung her head.

 **As for Uzumaki, his sealing knowledge is _far_ beyond that of Hatake without a doubt. He shows that his clan's blood runs deep within him." He then turned to Jiraiya who was looking at him with suspicion.**

"Even Jiraiya has enough of his brain out of the gutter to know Danzo is bad news..." Tsunade winced.

 **"You spoke with Hiruzen before the finals, yes Jiraiya?"**

 **"Of course I did. I wouldn't miss the chance to catch up with my old sensei," answered the sage.**

 **"Tell me; what level did he say young Uzumaki was in regards to sealing?"**

 **The white haired Sannin grew uncomfortable under the stares of everyone in the chamber as he answered, "Sensei placed the gaki at the level of an Adept Sealer, and he says that the gaki only studied for two years or so."**

 **The shinobi side and the other two Elders looked surprised at this while the civilians looked lost. "Could someone please explain what that means for those who do not know?" asked one of the more tolerant members. She knew the boy wasn't the fox and she even bet for him to make it to the finals. She still had some of the money she won from it.**

"Well...at least that helped their mood about Other-Naruto..." Rainbow dash said flatly. It still annoyed her, though.

 **"An Adept Sealer, Inoue-san, is basically the level of Tokubetsu Jonin if you were to use the shinobi ranks as a comparison," answered Danzo. "The levels are as follows: Beginner (Genin), Practitioner (Chunin), Adept (Tokubetsu), and Master (Jonin)." He then looked to Jiraiya and waved his only working hand to the Sannin. "Lord Jiraiya is at the level of Master, but he has spent years to get to where he is now. For young Uzumaki to be just a level lower at the rank of Genin is nothing short of prodigal."**

 **"There's one last rank, Danzo," Jiraiya spoke up, getting the attention of everyone. "Only the Yondaime and high members of the Uzumaki Clan ever got that far. It is equivalent to a Kage in skill."**

 **"And that is?" asked Haruno Mebuki with curiosity seen on her face.**

 **"The rank that is higher than Master is…"**

"What?! What is it?!" Twilight asked eagerly.

 **[With Naruto (around an hour later)]**

"Oh...come on!" the lavender girl said. Why didn't it say!?

 **Naruto took a sip of water from the stream that ran through the training field. He had been working on the Hanachiri Mai for just under an hour and his reserves were almost used up. _'I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised since this jutsu is near A-Rank.'_ He then took a look around the field and frowned at the small cuts that littered the area. "I know it can cut more than that… What am I doing wrong?"**

 **"The answer is simple; you aren't sharpening the wind that you use enough," answered an elderly voice and the blonde turned to see a man nearly covered in bandages; some of them covering his entire right side from the eye down to his wrist.**

The Konoha group all growled.

"Danzo...you stay away from my son!" Minato and Kushina both snarled in unison.

 **"Can I help you with something?" he asked cautiously.**

 **"Actually, it is _I_ who can help you with your jutsu. I know a wind jutsu when I see one, seeing as it is my element after all."**

 **"Really? I thought Asuma-sensei and I were the only ones…"**

 **"Yes, our kind are very rare in Hi no Kuni. But," the man smirked, "that just makes us deadlier than the rest…and less expected."**

 **Naruto smirked back at the truth in the old man's statement before his face hardened. "What's in it for you? No one helps another for free; especially not in the Leaf."**

Naruto winced. He knew his other was more...jaded...but, that was harsh!

 **"How true, young Uzumaki… I wish for you to do something for my assistance." When the blonde waved for him to continue, he stated, "I would request that you sell some of your seals in the ninja wares. Your seals are beyond useful, and the Leaf needs an edge against the other villages."**

 **"And why do you care so much?"**

 **"Boy, I am Hiruzen's old teammate Shimura Danzo. With all of my being, I wish for the Leaf to maintain its glory as the strongest village."**

 **"It sounds like your more pro military than pro policy," commented the Jinchuriki.**

"Should have an apostrophe before the "r" in that "you're". " Twilight said.

Her friends groaned as they payed up on the bet again.

"No kidding. Pro-military." Tsunade said distastefully.

"Take it the man's more of a problem then an ally?" Celestia asked.

"How bad is he?" Luna wondered.

"If you have to know, Danzo's a jingoist, an extremist, conspirator, and a corrupt official. Danzo's militant and archaic views made him a danger to the village he professed to love and protect as he created the hatred in some of Kohona's greatest attackers, and major enemies — Kabuto Yakushi, Pain, and Sasuke Uchiha, for example—due to his harsh, cruel indifference to human suffering. Also, despite Danzo's views that ninja should always be ready to sacrifice their lives, he was afraid of death, making him a hypocrite." Sai said cooly.

The Sun and Moon Sisters shared a look, feeling sorry they asked. No mystery why Minato and Kushina didn't want this man near their child.

 **"That's one way to see it. Hiruzen was a great man and a good leader, but he was foolish in many things; hiding what you carry being an example."**

"OH! Low blow, you sonnova-"

"Naruto!" Kushina abolished, even if she agreed with her son, there was no need for that kind of talk.

 **Naruto nodded with a sigh. "Yea… He really screwed up a lot of things, didn't he?"**

Naruto gaped. His other was agreeing with Danzo?! That was bad!

 **Danzo grunted out an agreement as he tapped his cane to get the blonde's attention. "So, what do you say to my request?"**

 **"I say…no."**

"Thank you, god." Naruto muttered. Refusing to help that worm Shimura...him and his counterpart had _that_ in common, at least.

 **"Excuse me? I had thought you would jump at the chance to better serve the Leaf?"**

 **"I honestly don't care about trying to prove myself to anyone anymore. I know who I am, and so do my friends; and that's all that matters."**

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. While he'd developed that mindset himself, it way yet another thing his counterpart was ahead of him at.

Sunset gave Naruto a somewhat concerned glance, recalling Naruto's internal struggle about his own value when compared with an alternative of himself that was much smarter and much more skilled than him at that point in time.

 **"And how do you feel about your home? What is the Leaf in your eyes?"**

 **"Home?" asked the blonde incredulously. "What kind of fool do you think I am to see this… _prison_ as a home?"**

"Worst thing is, can't blame other Naruto for feeling that way..." Ino winced.

 **"Careful with how you continue this, Uzumaki. It borders on suspicion of loyalties," warned the Elder.**

 **"Be suspicious all you want. All I know is that this place will never be my real home."**

Everyone looked at Naruto.

"Other. Me." he said.

 **Danzo frowned, but he said no more. Instead, he took out a scroll, unsealed a Konoha flak jacket from it, and tossed it to the blonde. "The Council has come to see you worthy of the rank of Chunin along with your teammate and the Aburame Heir."**

 **"…Thanks," the blonde uttered after a long pause.**

 **The Elder simply nodded before he left in a swirl of wind, leaving Naruto to put on his new vest.**

 **"Well, would you look at that? You actually earned some respect after all. How foolish… Mito and your mother practically commanded respect with their presences alone."**

 ** _'Kyuubi… I was wondering when you'd finally speak to me again. It's been over a month since our meeting during the Prelims."_**

 **"I saw no reason to. You were getting along fine with those equines teaching you and supervising your training. You even gained the fabled mana of the world. Not bad for a runt."**

"Runt, huh?" Kushina said, eyes narrowing.

"Late bloomer and lackadaisical mentors...it would prove to be a problem for Darling's development—alternate reality or not." Sunset pointed out, getting Minato and Kushina to glare at Kakashi, Kushina's red hair starting to lift and thrash like tentacles.

 ** _'Well, I'm glad you're impressed,'_ retorted the blonde with an eye roll.**

 **"Impressed? No. Tolerant? Yes."**

 ** _'And that means…?'_**

 **"It means that I can live with you at your current level…for now anyway. However, you are from the level I _want_ you to be at. You still have a long way to go in both your sealing _and_ your Hyōton."**

 ** _'I know that! You don't need to remind me of something so obvious!'_**

 **The Bijuu grinned within the seal. "Good… So long as you know…"**

 ** _'Hey Fox…'_ began the Uzumaki.**

 **"What?"**

 ** _'…What was kaa-chan like?'_ he asked nervously.**

Kushina and Naruto both stiffened at that.

 **"…Kushina…was exactly as you dreamed a mother would be,"answered the fox honestly. "She had a pure heart, but she also would hesitate to knock down anyone who harmed or upset the people she loved." The blonde heard a chuckle come from the fox. "She even tried to get me to see her as a friend at some point, but I refused. I'm a Bijuu; I have no need or _want_ for companionship."**

"Always thought that attitude made him sound like an Uchiha." Kushina said, causing Naruto to grab his head with a howl at a sudden headache due to Kurama throwing a fit about that.

 ** _'That's actually kinda sad to hear, fox…'_ commented the Uzumaki honestly, but the Kyuubi merely scoffed in response.**

 **"As I said; I don't need or _want_ friends. ****All you humans are the same to me, and not once have I seen a reason to change my mind."**

 ** _'You know, I think you and I are more alike than we both think.'_**

 **"Bah… We're no more alike than a fish is to a bird that snatches it from the sea."**

 **Naruto sighed at the Kyuubi's words as he made his way into town. _'Hey Fox… What happened on that night?'_**

Naruto plugged his ears and started humming loudly. He did not wanna hear this!

 **"The night of the sealing… It started off with your mother and father taking the place of birth to somewhere secret. After you were taken from the womb, a masked man arrived and killed everyone save your parents. In their shock, he was able to slip by and take you from them. Your father got you back and out of there, but it left your mother open to be taken. He then released me from the seal, and the next thing I know is the sight of a damned Sharingan."**

 ** _'So…an Uchiha was responsible,'_ the blonde mentally commented with a glare.**

 **"That's correct. The next moments were a blur due to me being under control, but the next thing I know is regaining my senses and continuing my rampage. I was angry and I wanted to release it on the nearest source."**

"Nobody likes being made a meat-puppet." Shikamaru said, getting looks from everyone at that, "And yes, the irony's not lost on me." he sighed.

 ** _'So, you continued to attack the Leaf out of anger… I guess I can understand that.'_**

 **"Your father then used the Shiki Fuiin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) to seal away half of my power and being into himself. Once that happened, he then prepared the Hakke no Fuiin(Eight Trigrams Seal) and was ready to seal the rest of me within you. I faintly remember your mother trying to convince him to let her take me back inside her before she died, ending both of our lives."**

 ** _'Kaa-chan…'_ he thought with a small smile. _'She chose to follow the creed to the end.'_**

 **"It wasn't just because of the creed. She did it because she didn't want you to live the life she did as a Jinchuriki. But, your father chose to seal me inside of you to 'give you the strength' to fight your future battles." The fox then scoffed and continued, "I personally believe that he wanted the Leaf to keep their damn 'Ultimate Weapon' for any future wars."**

Everyone glared at Minato at that.

 **Naruto clenched his fist as he neared the Ichiraku Stand. He stopped a couple of feet from it and tried to reign in his anger, but it was incredibly hard to do so.**

Sunset pulled Naruto's hands away from his ears, "Past that part, Darling." she said.

"Thanks..." the blond told the one taking up his lap.

 **Because of his distracted state, he didn't notice someone was trying to talk to him before they bopped him upside the head. "Damn it, gaki! I'm talking to you!"**

"Ugh...I always hated that..." Kushina muttered.

 **He rubbed the back of his head in irritation and turned to see an equally irritated Anko looking down at him with her arms crossed. "Is there something you need, Mitarashi-san?"**

 **She rolled her eyes and pointed to his vest. "I was congratulating you on your promotion. You more than earned it in my book. But it looks like you were too distracted to notice me, and I take offence to being ignored."**

"Been there, done that...made lotta smashed tomatoes because of it." Kushina said.

"Don't ask." Naruto and Minato said in unison with winces and hesitant tones at the looks the family were given by everybody else.

 **"Sorry… I have a lot on my mind at the moment."**

 **"I can tell," she commented with a smirk. "Listen, I was actually on my way to get some grub. Wanna join me?"**

 **Raising a brow, he asked, "Why me?"**

 **Her response was a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. "You don't have to come, y'know. I'm just offering you lunch for your promotion. Call it a celebratory meal."**

Naruto shrugged and nodded. That sounded good to him.

 **"I was gonna get some ramen right now."**

 **"Ramen? Why would you wanna eat messy noodles?"**

Naruto groaned. "This is gonna be humiliating!" he muttered.

 **"Hey, don't mock the Food of the Gods!" he yelled with a finger pointed at her accusingly. This just made her grin.**

 **"You think _ramen_ is the Divine Food?" she asked as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders with a mock head shake of disappointment. "You poor, deluded boy… Come with Anko-chan and let her show you what _really_ is the Food of the Gods!"**

 **"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" he asked to no one in particular. His answer was her hefting him over her shoulder like a potato sack, which made him sweatdrop and the Kyuubi roar with laughter. With a sigh, he stated, "Yea, I'm not getting out of this…"**

Seeing the looks Sunset and Hinata both sent them all, nobody else in the group commented, though Pinkie was biting her lower lip, trying to keep from laughing.

 **[With Jiraiya]**

 **The toad sage was looking through his spyglass with a perverse giggle as the sight of women having fun at a waterfall was seen. One hand held the glass while the other scribbled furiously in his notebook. "Yes… Just like that; give her a little splash!"**

"...Are we SURE Equestrian magic is all non-lethal? I wanna see this geezer as a crater." Twilight said.

"Agreed, and sadly, yes it all is." Celestia and Luna said in unison.

 **Comments like these would be heard every minute or so, and it was at this sight that the other two Elders arrived. They were Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, two more of the Sandaime's old teammates when they served under the Nidaime.**

Minato stuck a finger down his throat in a 'gag me' gesture. He never did like those two!

 **"Jiraiya-sama, a word if you please?" Homura stated, announcing their presence.**

 **Without turning to them, he waved them away. "I'm in the middle of something at the moment. Come back in like an hour or two."**

"Kick him in the butt! Hopefully there's a cliff!" Rainbow dash said.

 **"This cannot wait, Jiraiya!" Koharu declared with a frown. "It concerns who will become the Godaime!"**

 **Jiraiya slowly put down the spyglass and sighed sadly. "Already that time, huh?"**

 **"I'm afraid so," Homura said with a small frown. "The Council has asked us to offer you the position."**

"Yeeeeeeeeah...I am going to say no to that." Kushina scowled. Like hell giving such an unrepentant pervert that much authority would end well.

 **"No way," immediately declined Jiraiya with his hands crossed in front of him. "I never wanted to be Hokage,**

"Thank god/ Thank Harmony" the readers all said.

 **and besides I'm more of a spy**

"No kidding, filthy chump." Applejack said.

 **than a leader. My network and keeping an eye on the current events of the Elemental Nations is my main duty."**

 **Homura nodded in agreement while Koharu asked, "Then who would you suggest?"**

 **"How about my old teammate, Tsunade? She's practically born for this role after all."**

 **"But she hasn't stepped foot near the Leaf in years!" argued the elderly woman. "How in the world are you going to convince her to return?"**

 **"Easy; I find her, tell her what happened to our sensei, and then offer her the job. I have my ways, Koharu-san; leave it to me."**

"More like leave it to Naruto..." Tsunade said, shaking her head. The blond was who really convinced her to go back and take the job.

 **"If you're sure…?" Homura began questioningly.**

 **"I've got this; believe me. However, I'd like to take someone with me to get her."**

 **"And that would be…?"**

 **"Uzumaki Naruto," answered the Sannin.**

"Not gonna like that," Sai pointed out.

 **"Unacceptable," Koharu declared. "He's been promoted to Chunin and has duties to the village and its restoration."**

 **"And what's more restoring than helping me retrieve our next Hokage?" countered Jiraiya.**

"Point." Kakashi said.

 **"He's the Jinchuriki! He cannot leave this village when we're in a weakened state!" she continued with her argument.**

"So...you're just a weapon to these two?" Rarity said, looking revolted.

Naruto nodded. "Never did like them." he confessed.

 **"You really believe that the dozens of Jonin we have won't be enough? Not to mention the Chunin and even the ANBU."**

"Jiraiya: 2, Elders: 0" Anko grinned.

 **"But—!"**

 **"Enough, Koharu," Homura interrupted, stopping her from making another argument. He then turned to the sage and asked, "You can guarantee that he will return to the Leaf? Konoha needs its Jinchuriki."**

 **"I promise," declared Jiraiya.**

 **"Very well… Uzumaki Naruto will accompany you on this mission then. I want you to assume that it is high A-Rank."**

 **"Of course," the Sannin complied before he went back to his research, leaving the Elders to sigh at his actions and head back to the Hokage Tower. They needed to oversee the village until Jiraiya brought back Tsunade.**

 **[With Naruto]**

 **The Uzumaki arrived back at the training field with a small burp from the dango he ate with Anko. He even had a small bag of the stuff in his hand. "It may not be as good as ramen,**

Anko glared at Naruto, who found himself feeling very glad it was so easy to hide behind Sunset Shimmer with her in his lap.

 **but it's still delicious," he commented as he set the bag down.**

Anko dropped her glare and nodded, satisfied.

 **"What do you plan to do now?"**

 ** _'I think I'll speak with Celestia or Luna about something. It's been bothering me for a while.'_**

 **"And that would be…?"**

 ** _'You'll see, fox…'_ the blonde answered cryptically as he performed the jutsu and brought forth the Moon Princess.**

 **"Naruto," she greeted with a smile and nod, which he returned. "What is it that you need?"**

 **"I really just have a question. All seals wear down at different rates, right?"**

"Oh...going there, huh?" Kushina said. She knew what this was about.

 **"Of course. Mito spoke of this many times, often complaining about certain seals wearing down faster than she wanted them to," she answered with a smile as she remembered the Uzumaki Matriarch's frustration.**

 **"I thought so… I was wondering how long you believe the Shiki Fuiin would last?"**

"Knew it." Naruto, Minato, and Kushina all said.

 **"…That is very difficult to answer, Naruto," she said with hesitation. "The seal is apparently to** **seals**

"T-W-O, not T-O." Twilight said automatically.

Her friends moaned, but Rainbow dash smirked.

 **of the exact same nature interlacing one another to form a completely new one. For all we know, it could wear down in a few years, a few months, or even a few hours."**

 **"Relax already," commented the fox, making them both stiffen; Naruto in surprise and Luna at the feeling of the denser chakra. "The seal still has a _long_ way to go before it wears down enough for you to panic. I may hate the Yondaime for sealing me for the third time in my life, but I can't deny his skill in the sealing arts."**

 **Naruto nodded and relayed what the fox said to the alicorn, making her smile. "That is good news. I'm glad you do not need to worry yourself for a while."**

 **"Me too… How are the others doing?"**

 **"They are well; however, they are rather upset with Rainbow Dash,"**

Rainbow dash flushed. Oh great! bring _that_ up, why dont'cha?!

 **she answered with a smile which soon became teasing in nature. "You wouldn't happen to know _why_ , would you?"**

"...I hate this...I really do..." Rainbow dash groaned, slamming her head on the table as the others all snicked at her.

 **Blushing bright red, Naruto couldn't form a coherent answer which caused both the equine princess and the vulpine Bijuu to laugh.**

"Can somebody kill me now...? Please!" both Naruto and Rainbow dash groaned.

 **When she calmed down, Luna gave her summoner a reassuring smile. "She's quite fond of you, you know…as are the other five."**

"HUH?!" said five mares all shouted.

 **"But, is a relationship…?"**

"Please...not there!" Naruto moaned in horror.

 **He couldn't finish the question, and Luna noticed.**

 **"Possible?" she finished for him, making him nod nervously. She placed a hoof on his shoulder and gave him another smile before she answered, "Back when our clan had many summoners and many ponies to summon, a relationship between summoner and pony wasn't all that uncommon. Some relationships even led to small families and we did nothing to stop them so long as they were happy."**

Hinata fainted at that. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! She couldn't stand the idea! She couldn't loose Naruto to a bunch of horses!

"Can you turn into a flesh-eating beast, like a lion or something, and bit off my head?" Naruto asked Chrysalis.

"Can, but won't..this is too much fun!" the Changeling monarch snickered.

Naruto groaned. It was all coming back to him why he wanted that book to die.

 **The Uzumaki looked slightly amazed at the revelation before another question came to mind. "But if what you said is true, then Dash isn't the only one that…likes me," he stated with a small blush. He still couldn't believe that _anybody_ would see him in that light.**

Everyone turned to look at Hinata's unconscious form pointedly.

 **"Another issue that wasn't uncommon in the past. However, most of the Uzumaki and ponies limited themselves to a 3-way marriage, so it's a little different for you."**

"Gah..." Naruto said, stunned.

Sunset Shimmer, recalling the chat with Kushina, wasn't fairing much better at all. The smirk the mother was shooting her didn't help matters! Just her luck! THIS turned up in the chapter they were reading right when Kushina wanted to talk to her about being paired up with Darling earlier!

 **"…This is a lot to think about."**

"Understatement..." Rarity observed.

 **"I know, but you'll figure it out, Naruto. My sister and I have faith in you. Just do what your heart feels is right."**

 **He nodded to her as she disappeared in a plume of smoke. He prepared to resume his training before he was interrupted.**

 **"Dobe, I need to talk to you," Sasuke stated as he entered the training field.**

"Can't believe I'm saying this, and I'll need to wash my mouth out later, but—thank harmoney for Sasuke! Needed the topic change!" Sunset said, then conjured a hand mirror and stared at her reflection sticking her tongue out like she was looking for something, then dismissed the mirror in favor of a gallon of mouthwash and chugged as much of it into her mouth as she could in a single setting and started swishing it around.

 **"What is it? I'm in the middle of training, Sasuke."**

 **"I want to know who you learned those seals from. Whoever taught you is wasting their time with you."**

"...Is he serious?" Tenten asked.

"Since when did Sasuke ever have a sense of humor?" Choji asked rhetorically in response.

 **"…You're joking right?" asked the Uzumaki with a raised brow. "You think someone taught me to make those seals?"**

Kushina snorted with amusement. Damn...Mikoto's second-born was stupid!

 **At the Uchiha's nod, Naruto burst out into laughter, holding his side as it began to ache slightly. "Oh man, that's the craziest thing I ever heard!" he called out between laughs.**

"I can see why he'd think that's funny." Pinkie Pie said, nodding sagely.

 **Sasuke grew angry at the blonde's laughter and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "It's the only possible way you could be that strong! You're just a deadlast loser who has nothing!**

"WHAT DID HE JUST SAY!?" Minato and Kushina roared.

 **You had to have learned from someone, now tell me who!"**

 **Scowling, Naruto shoved the Uchiha off of him. "Back off, Sasuke! I learned sealing from scrolls and created that seal on my own through trial and error! I wasn't taught, and I didn't have it given to me like some spoiled child!"**

"You tell him!" Applejack rooted.

 **Sasuke clenched his fist in anger and ground out, "So, you're just gonna keep lying about where you learned those seals, huh? Fine, I'll just find the person myself and convince them to stop wasting their time on you, dobe!"**

"Find it funny...but only because he'll be wasting his time chasing his own imagination." Kiba said.

 **He then stomped out of the training field, leaving an annoyed Naruto to fix his clothes. _'Stupid, arrogant bastard… Who the hell does he think he is demanding stuff from me?'_**

 **"He's an Uchiha who has followed many others before him in the path of arrogance and stubborn pride. Soon, that pride will sprout jealousy for those who are stronger in his eyes and he will do whatever it takes to get stronger than they are."**

 ** _'You speak from experience…'_**

 **"Of course I do! That damned bastard Madara used me just to prove his strength against Hashirama! Even _with_ me acting as his partner – due to that damned eye of his – he _still_ lost to the Senju!"**

"Well, Madara sucks." Naruto said. Which he felt was true, Madara and Hashirama were best friends during the age of antiquity, where clans were nothing but bloodthirsty beast herds and children died for nothing. That seemed great...up until Madara found out that Hashirama was a Senju and so he just gave up on being Hashirama's friend just because the status quo told him so. Hashirama wanted to be friends despite this and that should have been the direction that Madara had taken as well. He then battled the Senju clan and lost every time. He finally forgives Hashirama and they found Konoha, but then almost immediately after that with no transition at all, he leaves the village not because the Uchiha would be persecuted as he claimed, but because he couldn't be the Hokage. Madara didn't even leave the village and fight Konoha for his clan, he was doing all that kind of non-sensical bullshit for himself and only himself, the whole battle with Hashirama was essentially a giant ego contest because GOD FORBID SOMEBODY BE BETTER THAN MADARA!

Naruto shook his head. Ugh...was Kurama influencing his thoughts on that subject?

 ** _'Damn… The Shodaime really is amazing if he took on you and Madara at the same time.'_**

Naruto, recalling that Hashirama was the previous "Ashura" before him, chuckled. In a weird way, he was tooting his own horn with that line.

 **"Indeed… Hashirama is perhaps one of the rare few who have earned my respect amongst the humans**

"Irony." Naruto muttered, again, recalling that Hashirama was the previous incarnation of Ashura Otsutsuki before him.

 **; Mito and your mother being two others."**

The family of three grinned at that, finding it funny.

 **Naruto started to picture the three in his mind and was about to ask who the others were,** **but a voice calling out to him stopped him.**

 **"Hey there, gaki!" greeted Jiraiya as he entered the field. "Took me a while to find you, y'know."**

"That's my line, Pervy Sage!" Kushina huffed, referring to the "you know" at the end.

"...Definitely takes after his mother." Minato sighed, amused.

 **"Who are you?" asked the blonde in _extreme_ annoyance.**

"WHAT?!" Minato and Kushina shouted. The fact that Jiraiya shunned his role as Naruto's godparent so much that he didn't even know the man at all was really setting them off.

 **He just wanted to get some training done. Was that too much to ask?!**

"Hardly!" Twilight huffed.

 **"The name's Jiraiya, kid; Jiraiya the Gama Sennin and one of the three Sannin."**

 **"Okay…" drawled out the blonde with a blank stare. "What do you want?"**

 **"You and I have a mission, kid. Pack for a few weeks and meet me at the gate in about half an hour."**

 **"Mission? What mission?"**

 **"We're going to search for my other teammate, Tsunade. The Council wants her to become the Godaime of the Leaf."**

 **"And you want me to come because…?"**

 **The Sannin grinned and answered, "I want you to come so that I can help you continue your sealing studies. Tell you what; I'll even sweeten the deal and teach you _this_!" He held his right palm up and chakra began to swirl violently on it in the shape of a perfect sphere. "This is the Rasengan, one of the Yondaime's signature jutsu!"**

"And a very awesome move it is—even if it was incomplete at the time." Naruto said.

Sunset and Twilight both gawked.

"That technique...! Rotation, power, and containment...contained to the shapeof a sphere and it slowly starts to go out of control as you increase the rotation. But if you add more power to it, it balances out. However, if you focus too much on power, you lose the rotation and it falls apart. Not to mention that it can become self-sustaining until it hits something so that On contact, it grinds into it's target and simultaneously expands, propels what it struck along it's trajectory and at some point bursts, causing severe damage at the point of contact!" Twilight said, shocked.

"Ball of raw energy, digs in like a drill and when it hits something, it expands like an explosion. Minimum impact, maximum effect—especially since there's no way of strengthening the internal organs, so any enemy struck with that blow is going to succumb." Sunset Shimmer summarized to the confused looks the two from most of the group.

"But you said it was incomplete before...why way that?" Twilight asked Naruto.

"Meant to add different aspects to augment and enhance it, never got the chance to." Minato said. "But can I say that you two both figured it out at a glance like that is impressive and frightening at the same time?"

"Picked as Celestia's students for good reason." Luna said with a nod.

 **Naruto scowled at the orb and was about to tell the Sannin to forget about it,**

"WHAT?! Oh...HECK NO!" Naruto cried. His other had better not!

 **but the fox stopped him. "That jutsu is based off of the Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bullet) that we are capable of. You'd be a fool to turn it down." Naruto scowled further, and Jiraiya took it as the blonde thinking it over while the fox continued. "That jutsu is also capable of being fused with elemental affinities. Not to mention that it makes that lightning jutsu that the Uchiha used look like nothing. Learn the jutsu, but keep an eye on him. His motives go beyond just teaching you."**

 ** _'Fine…'_ acquiesced the blonde. "Alright, I'll go with you; but you better keep your end of the deal, old man!"**

 **"Old man?" Jiraiya asked before he placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "Oh, now you've gone and hurt this 'old man' and his feelings." The blonde rolled his eyes and walked away to get ready, leaving the Sannin to watch his retreating form. "I may not have been there for you kid, but that doesn't mean I can't try and make it up to you. And besides," he stated as he began to head towards the gate, "only an Uzumaki can convince another."**

"Hold up!" Pinkie cried, then pointed at Tsunade and Naruto, "You two are related?!"

"Mito Uzumaki was my grandmother while Hashirama Senju was my grandfather...so yes, we're related."Tsunade said.

"...Then why do you always get so mad over me calling you "Grandma"?" Naruto asked.

A second later, Naruto was yet again being pried out of a wall and healed by Daydream Shimmer.


	9. Chapter 9

"Here." Twilight said, taking the book, "I'll do this one."

 **Chapter 8: Slugs, Toads, Snakes, and Ponies**

"And thus, The second fight with Orochimaru...hate that guy..." Naruto said upon hearing the title.

Everyone muttered in agreement.

 **As Naruto leaves with Jiraiya, let's take a small look back at a certain group of six and their roasting of a certain polychromatic pegasus.**

Rainbow dash moaned.

 **Rainbow Dash was cornered in Twilight's library/home with the other members of the Mane Six giving her slightly heated looks while hers was that of somepony with their "hoof in the cookie jar".**

 **"Well?" asked Applejack.**

 **"Well what?" asked Dash with a nervous chuckle.**

"Kill me. Somebody, please, kill me now." Rainbow dash said.

 **"What do y'all got to say for yourself? Ya… Ya _kissed_ him!"**

 **"Before any of _us_!" added Rarity.**

"HELLO!" Rainbow dash cried, so that was what her other was getting grilled over?!

 **"What do you want from me; an apology? I like him, and so do the rest of you!**

The Mane Six all flushed. Damn their alternate selves!

 **I… I just acted because I was scared," Dash said in hopes of explaining her actions.**

 **"What were you scared of?" Twilight asked, trying to remain calm even though she was also jealous.**

Twilight blinked before shrugging. Eh...while there was no denying Naruto was a good guy, she still preferred a certain blue-haired guitar player from Canterlot High.

 **"I was scared he'd do something stupid and nearly get himself killed like he did when he faced that snake guy all by himself… I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that…I don't want to lose him."**

 **"N-Neither do we," Fluttershy said quietly, though the others heard her. "We were just hoping that we could be first is all."**

 **Pinkie pouted cutely and crossed her forelimbs. "Well, we all wanted it, but Dash just beat us to it… Still isn't all that fair though."**

"All's fair in love and war." Ino snickered.

The Mares all gave her the stink-eye, which she pointedly ignored.

 **"I'm sorry, girls," Dash said sincerely. "I just acted, but I don't regret my actions." She blushed as she finished, "The kiss was amazing…"**

Hinata made a sound like she was choking on a lump in her throat, even so...she wanted to hear this.

 **"Really now?" asked Rarity with a gleam in her eye. "Care to share the details there, darling?"**

 **The cyan pegasus placed a hoof on her chin in thought as she answered, "It felt…warm, soft, and I felt so…I can't think of another word but 'safe'. It was like the kiss reassured me that he'd be fine and that he'd watch my back."**

Kushina caught Sunset Shimmer's eye and grinned at her, prompting the yellow highlighted redhead to groan, much to everyone else's confusion.

 **The other mares looked up thoughtfully, imagining themselves in her position before blushes spread all around.**

"Can someone tell me when it's over?" Naruto said.

 **Twilight coughed to regain her composure and said, "A-Anyway, what I think we're saying is that we're just…jealous of you is all. And we let that jealousy get ahead of us. Sorry…"**

 **The other mares apologized as well, and Dash accepted them without issue. Unknown to them, Luna was watching**

"OH, COME ON!" the six all cried.

"Uh...didn't that she knew that get established last chapter?" Sakura asked.

"So? Not like it's any less embarrassing to have a conversation like that eavesdropped on..." Twilight grumbled.

 **them with a small smile before she was engulfed in a plume of smoke.**

 **[Present Time (with Naruto and Jiraiya)]**

 **The blonde had his blue eyes narrowed in annoyance as he followed Jiraiya throughout the small town they were currently in. For a revered Sannin, the man was lacking in impressing him. So far, the Toad Sage was just casually asking people in town if they had seen this Tsunade woman and was showing them a picture of her.**

"That's it?!" Twilight said, gaping. She groaned, then turned to Naruto "I honestly pity you for having to call this your teacher."

 **Naruto couldn't help but notice that she looked incredibly young for her supposed age, considering she was Jiraiya's teammate and he _had_ to be pushing around 50. The Toad Sage had explained to him that Tsunade was actually a vain woman and used a constant genjutsu on her body to hide her true age.**

"Ah...so that's where being called 'Grandma' came from...it was Jiraiya's fault!" Tsunade said in annoyance, she should've known!

 **The Uzumaki couldn't help but palm his face at that. The Sannin were all powerful; he'd be one of the first to acknowledge that. However, they _all_ apparently had issues! Tsunade was afraid of her true age catching wind of those around her, ****Orochimaru was desperate for power and immortality, and Jiraiya… Actually, the man hadn't really shown any _serious_ issues other than wasting his time.**

"Yet." Naruto said in annoyance.

 **He shrugged as he kept following the Sage. Maybe he'd prove himself to actually be respectable.**

"Keep on dreaming, other me...keep on dreaming..." Naruto said flatly.

 **[Half an Hour Later]**

 **The blonde's eye twitched constantly at the sight of Jiraiya leaving with a girl wrapped around his arm and a lecherous grin on his face. _'Of course he's a perverted old man… How could he_ _not_ _be a perv when his teammates have issues of their own?'_**

"HEY!" Tsunade cried.

 **"You humans are so confusing with your near endless quirks and interests. Even you are confusing with your attraction to your own summons."**

 ** _'It isn't my fault that I see them as beautiful and good friends,'_ defended the blonde. _'Although, it's obvious Dash wants to be more…and Luna said the others were pretty jealous of her kissing me. Damn, why is my life so complicated?'_**

"Amen to that question at the end." Naruto said solemnly.

 **"Don't know; don't care. All I need you to do is just stay alive; for both your sake and mine. I don't feel like dying any time soon."**

 ** _'Yea yea, I know already… But I also know that, sooner or later, I'm going to need your help, Fox.'_**

 **The Bijuu snorted. "Of course you do… Well, I suppose I _should_ help, considering how the seal connects our lives together until it is removed or broken. But…I want something in return."**

 ** _'And what exactly did you want?'_**

 **"I want to, how you say, highlight my presence around you."**

"Not going to end well." Kushina said.

 ** _'Explanation please?'_ Naruto asked in confusion.**

 **"Simple; at some point you'll have to show your connection to those equines that you summon… Maybe even _transform_ into them much like they transform into humans; or _semi_ -humans in their case. I want some of _my_ features to be seen and acknowledged. I may not have much due to being sealed into you, but I still have my pride as a Bijuu and I will _not_ relinquish it."**

 **Mentally nodding, the Uzumaki replied, _'Alright, I can accept that. We'll talk to Celestia and Luna about it some time, okay?'_**

 **"Fair enough; so long as you get it done. Until then, I will not help you anymore than I already do in boosting your natural recovery rate."**

 ** _'Deal…'_**

 **With that done, the blonde sighed and made his way to a hotel to book a room seeing as his "guardian"**

"What were you two thinking when you gave this _THING_ a job like that?" Celestia asked Minato and Kushina.

They both sighed, "Respectfully, our...absence...from our son's life wasn't something we planned on...and on all things holy and damned, we fully planned on taking a chainsaw to his parts if he even tried being perverse around our son." Kushina said.

The princesses nodded.

 **was preoccupied. When he had the room paid for and settled in, he performed the Kuchiyose and summoned forth Twilight in her natural form.**

 **"Hello Naruto," she greeted politely.**

 **He gave a small smile in return and nodded. "Hey Twilight. I was wondering if we could continue my mana lessons."**

 **"Oh! Of course we can! But, it'd probably be best if we went to my home since I have all the necessary books and such there."**

 **Nodding again, the Uzumaki watched his friend disappear before he felt a tug on his person and disappeared.**

 **Had he waited just _one_ more minute, he'd have heard a knock on his door from two men in black cloaks covered in red clouds.**

"...Why that lucky little..." Naruto said with a twitch in his eye. No Akatsuki run-in?! He was starting to really hate his counterpart!

 **[Ponyville Library]**

 **"Okay, just make yourself comfortable while I look for the books," Twilight said with a smile as she left him in the lounge area of her home.**

 **He watched her go and relaxed on a small couch with a smile on his face. He felt…accepted here in Ponyville; like he was…home. Not "home" as in his actual home, but _home_ ; a place where he could live peacefully and free of hatred or persecution.**

"What's the difference?" Tenten asked, to which the mares all nodded. They understood that.

 **"Hey, who are you?" asked a young voice and the Uzumaki turned to the sight of a child-sized purple lizard with green fin-like scales on their head to their tail.**

Twilight paused in her reading. She just had to smile. Spike.

 **"Uh… Hi. My name's Naruto; Uzumaki Naruto."**

 **"Oh! You're the human Twilight was talking about with her friends! I never thought I'd meet you so soon. I'm Spike, Twilight's assistant."**

 **"Nice to meet you. Hey, I have to ask; are you a lizard or something else?"**

"Geeze...that's a pointless question your other self just asked." Sakura said.

 **"I'm a lizard, but then again dragons are technically lizards," answered Spike with a thoughtful look.**

"HUH?!"

"A...a dragon?!"

"Your assistant is a dragon?"

 **"Dragon? Don't they have their own summoning contract?"**

 **"They did, before they lost the right to be called Summon Creatures due to a lack of summoners. I was found as an egg and hatched by Twilight. Now, I live here with her."**

Kushina, spotting a perfect opportunity, grinned at Twilight, "Surprised Spike here never calls you "Mom" then." she teased.

Twilight went red at that. Good thing Spike wasn't here, or that would've been even more awkward.

 **"You don't say… That must have been a lucky break for you, huh?"**

 **He and Spike chuckled at that before the young dragon looked to Naruto seriously. "Hey, I know that the girls like you; as in _like you_ like you." The blonde blushed slightly as he continued, "I never told anyone this – except Twilight and Pinkie – but**

At the new line, Twilight paled. Oh great! How did this get added to the book?! She couldn't do this to Spike!

Apparently, Pinkie guessed what that line was, too, because she suddenly tackled Twilight and it resulted in a scuffle...all while Twilight kept reading, but nobody could hear her over the fighting.

When Pinkie stopped and sat down, everyone stared at her, "What was that for?! We missed an entire line of the book!"

 **Feeling guilty, the blonde began, "Look, I never really meant to-"**

 **"Just promise me that you'll treat her right, please. Someone as amazing as her deserves to be treated like a rare gem; with care."**

"OH!" the females other than Twilight and Pinkie said, then nodded. !hey got it now. A secret confession! No wonder Pinkie had kept that line from getting said out loud.

 **He saw the pleading in the young dragon's eyes and he sighed. "I promise to treat her the best I can should she truly seek something with me. You have my word, Spike; and I'm sorry that your crush is one-sided. I know it must be tough to handle."**

"Love triangles suck." Naruto said, nodding. He'd been there before and knew that first-hand.

 **"So long as she's happy, then I'm sure I'll be fine," reassured Spike before he shook his claw with Naruto's hand and went to the book section of the home to organize the stock.**

Rarity smiled and her eyes felt a bit wet. Her Spikey-wikey really was a sweetheart.

 **The Uzumaki leaned back in his seat with a sigh. He couldn't believe his life got so crazy ever since he found that old shrine. But, he smiled at the thought of never changing his choice and not regretting what happened. He found friends, acceptance, and possibly something more from some of the mares. It was slightly strange, seeing as he was human and they weren't; but Luna's words of summoner/summon relationships being a common thing reassured him.**

Naruto blushed and squirmed at that...as did Sunset Shimmer, the human-formed mare glared as Kushina giggled.

 **He frowned slightly at the length of time it was taking Twilight. He was starting to get bored,**

Everyone from the Konoha half of the reading group paled except for Naruto, Minato and Kushina.

 **so he did the one thing he normally does when bored…**

 _'No pranks! No pranks! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no no no no no no NO pranks!'_ the ninjas all thought.

 **He experimented with his jutsu.**

The ninjas all visibly relaxed, to the confusion of the Equestrians.

 **His arms crossed over his chest as past images of the Mane Six in their human transformations filled his thoughts. Surely if they became humans he could become a pony…right?**

"...I can see where this is going." Applejack said.

 **Shrugging, he slowly went through the handseals for the Henge (Transformation) and prepared to call on the chakra needed. As soon as he did, the Kyuubi merged its chakra into the jutsu, taking the blonde by surprise and engulfing him in a slightly red tinted smoke.**

"This'll be interesting." Twilight said. She wondered what Naruto's form would be.

 **Twilight finally walked back in with six books levitating next to her via her magic, but she froze with her mouth agape at the sight of what she assumed was Naruto.**

"Who else would it be?" Sakura asked.

 **Gone was the human, and instead an _alicorn_** **stood in her lounge area. He had a bright orange coat and horn, a spiked blonde mane with slight red highlights, and cerulean eyes. However, there were a few things that stood out. First was the fact that his ears and tail were that of a fox; not a stallion. Both were orange in color with the tail having a white tip and the inner fur of the ears being black. His normally thin whiskers were slightly more pronounced, making them look just a bit jagged. Lastly, his wings looked to be more predacious than the average pegasus or alicorn.**

The mares, the princesses, and even Chrysalis all had their jaws drop at the image from the projector.

 **"N-Naruto?" stuttered out the unicorn with a blush staining her cheeks. She couldn't deny that his transformed state was _very_ attractive to her. **

**The transformed Uzumaki lifted his wings and looked over his form before he grinned at Twilight, letting her see that he had small fangs like a canine**

"Or Changling or Nightmare Moon." Chrysalis said, causing Luna to scowl.

 **would. "It worked!" he exclaimed happily. "What do you think, Twilight? How do I look?"**

 ** _'Like the most stunning stallion I've ever laid eyes on,'_ she thought dazedly**

Twilight felt a bead of sweat run down her face, she was _SO_ glad Shining Armor wasn't around to hear or read any of this! Overprotective elder brother with military training and command over an army...yeah, her brother must never hear about any of this!

 **before she mentally shook off that thought. "You look incredible!" She then spent the next couple of minutes having him stay still so that she could get a better look at him, marking down his different features in a notepad that floated next to her.**

"No fantasy sketches now, Twilight..." Kiba snickered, only for the book to get tossed at his head, which Shino caught and took over reading.

 **Her eyes then fell on his flank and she blinked in confusion. "Uh, Naruto…?"**

 **"Yea?" he asked.**

 **"What does this Cutie Mark on your flank mean?"**

 **He scrunched his face in confusion before he took a look at the mark. It started off as a spiral, like the Uzumaki were famous for, but it had two four-point curves next to it; one above it and one below it. "Oh!" he exclaimed in realization. "That's the seal that holds back the Kyuubi. I suppose it had to show up somewhere on my body; no matter who or what I look like."**

"So the seal serves as your other self's Cutie Mark?" Celestia said, interested.

 **"It looks pretty complex…"**

"It is." Minato and Kushina nodded.

 **"Yea… It's made of two Shishō Fuiin (Four Symbol Seals) that act together as a Hakke Fuiin (Eight Trigrams Seal). It's the highest form of Uzumaki fuinjutsu."**

 **"Amazing…" she whispered in awe before she shook her head. "Anyway, we're getting off topic. Let's resume your mana training. Transform back so that we can begin," she said before mentally adding, _'At least I was the_ _first_ _to see him as an alicorn. Score one for Twilight!'_**

* * *

Back in Equestria, Shining Armor suddenly froze, pursing his lips and glaring, feeling a sudden surge of outrage directed at nothing in particular.

"Shining Armor...? What's wrong?" Cadance asked her husband.

"I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling like marching up to somepony and throttling them because they've done something to tick me off...weird thing is...I feel like it's somepony I've never even met."

"I think you need to take a break from juggling your jobs as captain of the Equestria Royal Guard and serving as prince of the Crystal Empire, dear." Cadance said gently.

The white male Unicorn sighed, "Maybe you're right..."

* * *

 _'Why do I get the feeling someone wants to kill me?'_ Naruto thought with a chill going down his spine.

 **[An Hour Later]**

 **In a plume of smoke, Naruto reappeared in the hotel room where an annoyed Jiraiya was waiting for him on one of the beds. "And where in the nine hells have you been brat?"**

 **"I was getting some _real_ work done, seeing as you let some random woman distract you from a _mission_ of all things," retorted the Uzumaki in annoyance. "You know, I actually thought you'd prove to live up to the name 'Sannin', but you showed me that you're just a perverted old man who gets by on _reputation_ alone."**

Everyone winced, but Tsunade laughed. Oh...if Jiraiya could hear that! HA!

 **"Watch your mouth, kid. My teammates and I earned that title and we _will_ be respected for it."**

 **"I'll respect you when you actually _act_ like the revered shinobi you're supposed to be.**

"So true..." Naruto muttered.

 **You still haven't even taught me how to start the Fourth's jutsu."**

 **Scowling, the Sage pulled out a scroll and unsealed a bag filled with water balloons that were full of water. Grabbing one and tossing it to the Jinchuriki, he explained, "The first step to the Rasengan (Spiral Chakra Sphere) is rotation. I want you to pop that balloon using your chakra to make the water _rotate_ and burst out of it."**

"Energy exercises." Twilight and Sunset said, that was always the first step to learning magic. Needed to learn how to direct the arcane energy correctly or too much could go wild.

 **Naruto's eyes narrowed on the balloon in his palm and he nodded slightly. "Alright then…"**

 **Jiraiya sighed and fell back on his bed. "We'll continue our travels tomorrow. But, there's something you should know about; something you missed when you were 'out'."**

Naruto grumbled. What it was, he could already guess. After all, unlike his story-self, he'd actually been there.

 **"What exactly did I miss?" asked the Uzumaki, putting the balloons aside to focus on the man's words.**

 **"Two men came to our room in search of you. They wore black cloaks with red clouds on them; a call-sign for a mercenary group known as Akatsuki. They may be mercenaries, but they're made up entirely of S-Rank Nuke-Nin. The ones who came were Hoshigaki Kisame, the Monster of the Hidden Mist, and Uchiha Itachi-"**

 **"The Slayer of the Uchiha," Naruto finished with narrowed eyes.**

"Wait...if he...HIS OWN FAMILY?!" Celestia cried horrified.

Naruto winced, he wanted to defend Itachi, but Itachi had sworn him to secrecy about WHY the Uchiha Massacre happened the last time he'd seen the Sharingan master, edo tensei or not. Hopefully it'd get explained later.

 **"Of course I have people after my head. It's not like my life could be _simple_ at least once. No! I have to have an _organized_ _group_ _of criminals_ after my head!"**

 **The sarcasm in his tone was palpable.**

"And VERY justified." Applejack said, getting nods at that.

 **Jiraiya sighed again and continued, "Well, you're lucky you were gone when you were. As for your Uchiha teammate…he wasn't."**

 **"What happened to him?"**

 **"He tried to kill Itachi, but the man easily overpowered, restrained, and practically mind fucked his younger brother."**

"Bee-line frontal assault on Itachi...that was too stupid to even qualify as suicide. What made it more pathetic was, as his brother, Sasuke knew that better than anyone else alive, but did it anyways." Naruto shook his head.

 **"Younger bro-? Oh right! Sasuke's older brother is Itachi, almost forgot about that…"**

 **Nodding, Jiraiya finished, "After I ran them off, one of the Genin sensei named Gai came and informed me that Kakashi was also hit by the technique used on Sasuke. This means that getting Tsunade to come back is a bigger deal than before. Only she can restore their traumatized minds."**

 **The blonde heaved out a heavy sigh at that. "Damn it… I can't believe Kakashi-sensei got hit by it too…"**

 **"Well, he did… So as I said, we'll continue tomorrow by heading to Tanzaku Gai. It's a big gambling town, so Tsunade should be there."**

 **"Don't tell me she's a big time gambler too!" complained the Uzumaki.**

 **"That's not the worst of it. She's known as 'The Legendary Sucker' in practically _every_ casino hall."**

 **Deadpanning, the blonde said, "That title could _so_ be taken out of context…"**

Tsunade's jaw dropped and her face went crimson. "NA...RU...TO!" she roared.

Naruto paled. Damn his other!

"Don't you dare even think of laying a hand on him!" Sunset snapped at the living legend, glaring.

 **The Sage smirked at that before he closed his eyes and relaxed. "No sense in talking about it anymore. We'll try to find her there."**

 **"And if we don't…?"**

 **"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."**

 **[Tanzaku Town (Midday the Next Day)]**

 **Naruto growled in slight frustration as he tried to make the small white ball between his hands pop with his chakra. He had gotten through the first step with relative ease during the walk to Tanzaku with Jiraiya, so the Sannin had him work on Step 2: power.**

Naruto winced. He still hated how behind he was behind his other he was at this point.

 **The ball in his hands was smaller, but much thicker than a simple water balloon. So far, the Uzumaki only put in enough force to have a small hole pop in the ball.**

Minato nodded encouragingly. Progress wasn't something you could rush with something like that.

 **"Damn it… This is starting to get to me," he growled before a soft hand was placed on his shoulder.**

"Who's that?" Pinkie asked.

"One of us, surely Rarity said.

"But which one?" Fluttershy asked.

 **His blue eyes met reassuring green ones as A.J. walked next to him in her human transformation.**

"Oh." Applejack said.

 **"Just relax, Naruto. Y'all will get it down pat no sweat."**

 **He smiled at that and nodded in thanks before he took a calming breath and tried again. He had summoned A.J. because he was bored just walking with Jiraiya in silence. At least with A.J., he had someone to talk to. He was expecting surprise when he summoned Applejack in front of Jiraiya, but the old Sage just informed him that he already knew about his contract with the ponies through the Sandaime's crystal ball.**

 **This of course annoyed Naruto since he wondered if _any_ of his "private" moments were truly private or not.**

Everyone paused and fumed at that. It was justifiably infuriating.

"First thing when we get back, that crystal ball's shattered." Tsunade said.

 **Applejack watched the ball in his hands deform in many areas before it looked _just_ short of popping. Her eyes narrowed as she said, "Just a bit more, Naruto! Ya almost got it!"**

 **Gritting his teeth, Naruto called on more chakra, forcing it into the ball before it exploded like a firecracker in his hands. The force of the ball pushed them both back while Jiraiya just laughed at where they landed. Naruto was stuck in some bushes near a small store while A.J. crashed into an old wagon.**

"And he finds that funny?!" Applejack said, shocked.

 **She was the first to recover and hurried over to him, making sure to step on the Toad Sage's toes as she passed him.**

"Should've done more..." Applejack grumbled.

 **When she reached him, she pulled Naruto out from the bushes before she got to work taking the stray twigs and leaves out of his hair. "Ya alright there, Naruto-kun?" she asked in concern.**

Minato and Kushina smiled. They appreciated that.

 **He couldn't help but smile at her concern as he nodded. "Yea, I'm okay. Thanks for worrying and for the support, A.J.-chan."**

"Thank you very much." Naruto's parents said.

 **She blushed slightly and averted her gaze while trying to cover her blushing face with her hat. "I-It was nothin'."**

 **"Oi, if you two lovebirds are done with the googley eyes, we need to start looking for Tsunade," Jiraiya called out as he walked further into town, making the two blondes blush.**

"Jerk..." Twilight muttered.

 **Naruto quickly made his way after Jiraiya with A.J.'s hand in his, deepening their blushes, but neither one of them removed their hands from the grip. In fact, A.J. gently squeezed his, making him turn to see her wink at him. He chuckled at that and the two relaxed their pace to a calm walk, still keeping their hands laced together.**

Naruto and Applejack both flushed. This was embarrassing!

 ** _'Wow, her/his hand is so soft,'_ they both thought. As they entered a random bar/restaurant, A.J. decided to be a little bold and leaned her head on Naruto's shoulder as they walked, making their blushes return. However, her Stetson hat got in the way, so she placed it on his head so that she could rest hers on his shoulder.**

"Please let this end!" Naruto muttered, redder than his mother's hair.

 **"Tsunade!" exclaimed Jiraiya,**

"Thank you!" Applejack muttered.

Tsunade winced. She remembered this meeting.

 **making the two of them turn to see their travel companion heading over to a table where a blonde woman and a brunette**

"Shizune's got black hair, not brown." Sakura said said.

 **woman holding a clothed pig**

Fluttershy smiled at the image of Tonton.

 **sat. "We finally found you!"**

 **"What the hell are you doing here?!" she exclaimed in shock, surprised that he showed up here of all placed. Her honey eyes turned to the two blondes stepping up to the table and she raised a slender brow at them. The brunette woman on the other hand smiled politely and waved at the two, which was returned with small waves of their own.**

"Shizune always was that way." Naruto smiled, to which Tsunade nodded.

 **"We need you to come with us back to Konoha, Tsunade. You've been nominated as the Godaime Hokage."**

"Blunt much?" Rainbow dash said.

Tsunade squirmed.

 **"Hmph," she snorted before she took a swig of her sake. "I refuse. Being Hokage is nothing but a fool's dream job. Only those who have a death wish want that job."**

"Hey!" Minato snapped, feeling offended.

 **"That's pretty harsh coming from the granddaughter of the Shodaime," Jiraiya retorted with a small frown. "Not to mention it sounds like you're spitting on the names of-"**

 **"Jiraiya, if you truly value your life, you'll shut up right now," warned a glaring Tsunade. "You will _not_ bring up _their_ names in my presence."**

 **"And why not when you're spitting on their deaths and dreams?" fired back the Sage. "I know you left because you couldn't take their deaths, but it's been over ten years already, Tsunade."**

Tsunade cringed.

 **"Wait a minute!" Naruto exclaimed, bringing everyone's attention to him. He glared at the Slug Sannin and growled out, "You mean to tell me…that the granddaughter of _Uzumaki Mito_ left my _mother_ alone in Konoha just because of _bad memories_?! You dropped the Uzu Creed because of _bad memories_?!"**

 **"Who the hell are you, brat, to talk to me like that?!" asked Tsunade with a scowl.**

"...Sheesh, this is worse than our actual meeting..." Naruto muttered, shivering.

 **"My name…is _Uzumaki_ Naruto, the _son_ of Uzumaki Kushina who was given the Kyuubi from your grandmother and my idol, Uzumaki Mito. I am their legacy and the two of us are cousins by blood." His glare deepened as he looked at her, rage burning in his eyes. "You disgrace your clan with your cowardice, and you dishonor Mito's sacrifice by leaving the _only_ Uzumaki in Konoha by herself to deal with the hatred of the Kyuubi. You don't deserve to have our blood in your veins."**

Naruto and Tsunade both cringed.

 **Before the woman could retort, and before Applejack could try to calm him down, Naruto broke out of his friend's grip and stormed out of the building with the patrons giving him a wide berth due to the rage and anger rolling off of him in waves.**

 **The Senju couldn't stop herself from trembling in her own anger at his words. They stung deeper than any wound she had felt before and what made her truly angry was that she couldn't deny any of the claims. Being raised in her home with her grandparents and parents, she was taught the Uzu Creed and she made a vow when she was old enough to stick to it. She knew about Kushina becoming the second Jinchuriki, but she didn't care when the pain of the loss of both her lover and brother were weighing down heavily on her heart.**

 **But, she broke the creed. She left Kushina alone, and apparently Naruto grew up alone as well with no family to raise him or guide him. When he informed her that he was a Jinchuriki, she knew deep down that his life was that of pain, sadness, and extreme loneliness.** **She couldn't even fathom how he somehow survived without going insane or suicidal.**

The mares glared at Tsunade, but those were absolutely nothing compared to the looks Minato and Kushina gave the Fifth Hokage.

 **"I hope y'all are happy," Applejack said with a frown at Tsunade. "All his life he's wanted nothin' more than a family or people to depend on. Did ya know that his first teacher was your grandmama's journal and notes?" Tsunade's eyes widened at that. "He learned for the first time from his dead ancestor and took to the creed as much as the past Uzumaki; at least, according Princess Celestia."**

 **"Celestia?" asked the Senju in shock. "She's still alive?"**

Seeing the outright murderous looks Tsunade was given at that by Sunset, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow dash, Chrysalis snickered. "HA! Great way to tick them off! Tsunade...I salute you!" the shapeshifter chimed happily.

 **"Of course she is!" yelled back the transformed mare while slamming her hands on the table. "She and Luna are still alive and are running things as our Co-Head Summons! The princesses both believe, without a lick of doubt, that Naruto is the hope of both our race and his lost clan! And look at you; an Uzumaki, if only partially, and y'all are here throwing your life away!"**

 **Following her friend's lead, she left the building in anger in hopes of finding him. Meanwhile at the table, Shizune and Jiraiya were looking at Tsunade whose eyes were fixed on the exit. The words of both Naruto and Applejack were ringing loudly in her head and she unconsciously imagined her little brother, Nawaki, and her late lover, Dan, frowning at her in disappointment while her deceased grandparents had their backs to her, as if shamed to even face her.**

Tsunade gulped and squirmed like a maggot in her seat. Naruto was right. This WAS worse than their actual first meeting!

 **Without a word, she stood up and walked out of the bar in search of them. She looked all over town without any luck before she decided to check around the outskirts. It was nearing dusk when she finally found them; though one of them was no longer in a human transformation.**

 **She saw the two of them seated on a fallen and dead tree trunk watching the setting sun slowly fade into the evening. It wasn't until she got a bit closer that she heard them talking.**

 **"Ya know, ya still got family Naruto-kun. The princesses, my friends and I, plus all of the other ponies of Equestria could be your family," stated Applejack in the same tone as the element she represented.**

 **"I know… It's just… I always wondered what it would be like to meet an actual _blood_ relative; even if it was a distant cousin at best. When I saw Tsunade and how far she had fallen from the time she was highlighted as the best kunoichi ever, I couldn't help but feel let down. It was like waiting excitedly for something to happen only to find out that it wasn't even close to what you expected or hoped it would be."**

 **The mare frowned sadly at his words before she placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that ya were let down like that, Naruto-kun…"**

 **Tsunade couldn't hold back the lone tear that fell from her face. The only _real_ family she had left, along with his late mother, and she let them both down. The Uzumaki were all about familial camaraderie and she cut herself off from it all because she was scared to lose anyone else.**

"Ok...can I just say THAT, at least, could be understood if not condoned, if you'd explained that being why you acted that way?" Celestia said.

Tsunade sighed, "You think I don't know that? I hated the sheer memories of those losses, it's not something I feel easy talking about. How could I just bring them up and say that like it was no big deal?" she asked.

Luna nodded. Grief and pain that didn't fade...no wonder Tsunade had been trying to run from that for so long.

 **She wiped away any more tears that threatened to fall before she walked up to them, making herself noticed.**

 **When the two turned to see her coming, the mare frowned at her**

"Admit I deserved that." Tsunade winced.

 **while Naruto kept his face neutral. When she stopped in front of them, Tsunade swallowed what pride she had and bowed to them both, her forehead nearly touching the earth she knelt on. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered in a sincere tone. "Everything you said…all of it…was true. I left Kushina alone in Konoha, I failed to be there for my fellow clansmen and I cannot take that back. I can't think of anything else to say other than that I am truly sorry…"**

 **Applejack turned to Naruto who was looking to his fellow clan member's bowed form. With a heavy sigh, he said, "Get up Tsunade… The granddaughter of Mito-sama shouldn't lower herself like that."**

 **The Senju stood up and looked to the younger blonde with regretful eyes. She saw A.J. whisper something to Naruto and he nodded before he bit both of his thumbs and performed a dual summoning. From the smoke came the two princesses of the Pony Summons.**

The mares fumed. They STILL found being called summons insulting!

 **"Celestia-hime… Luna-hime," greeted the elder blonde and they both nodded with straight faces that gave away nothing about their thoughts. She looked down from their gazes and stated, "I'm sorry that I-"**

 **"You realize how serious this is, right Tsunade?" asked Luna in a calm tone. "The creed is not to be taken lightly."**

 **"You know the laws," Celestia added. "Are you prepared to follow the punishment they specified?"**

 **The Senju nodded while Naruto looked confused. "There was a punishment?"**

Those from Konoha that knew about inner-clan laws winced, an example of that was some stupid Uchiha clan law that stated any Uchiha who was incapable of wielding their sharingan for whatever reason, be it genetic or forced onto their person, cannot be considered a member of said clan and is denied all that full-fledged members are entitled too. That included status, wealth, property, and clan jutsu.

 **"Yes, and I'm not surprised you don't know of it. Mito was a true and honest Uzumaki, so she probably didn't feel the need to mention it," answered the Sun Princess.**

 **"The punishment is as follows: Should any Uzumaki who has taken the creed break said creed, then their life is forfeit to the Head of the Uzumaki Clan. In this case, seeing as you've kept your Uzumaki name and Tsunade has been going with her grandfather's name, you are the Clan Head, Naruto," the Moon Princess informed.**

Tsunade stared, so did Naruto.

 **"Which means that my life is yours until you say otherwise," finished Tsunade.**

 **Naruto's and A.J.'s eyes widened at that. The mare knew nothing about the punishment either, and she assumed that if any of her friends knew, it'd be Twilight. The now realized Clan Head stood up from his seat while Luna and Celestia stood next to Tsunade with the Senju in between them. Taking a calming breath, Naruto said, "The laws may say that your life is now mine, but I always hated the idea of becoming a slave or having others as one. Your life is your own, Senju Tsunade." The Slug Sannin looked surprised at that while the princesses had hidden smiles. "However," added the younger blonde, "there still must be a punishment. So, to pay for breaking the creed, you are to take up the mantle of Godaime Hokage and support me in all of my actions; whether they are for Konoha or not."**

 **Tsunade smirked at that and nodded. "As you say, Uzumaki-sama."**

 **Naruto groaned and muttered, "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."**

Naruto made a face. Formalities?! YUCK!

 **This caused all of the females to laugh and he soon followed.**

 **Tsunade couldn't keep the smile of both relief and happiness from her face. She wouldn't mess up this second chance with Naruto.**

 **[Three Days Later]**

 **Naruto sat on his bed in a meditative position as he thought over what was about to happen. Over the past three days, Tsunade and Shizune told him and Jiraiya about Orochimaru's offer to her. Jiraiya saw this as the perfect opportunity to avenge his late sensei while Naruto saw it as a chance to get rid of the snake.**

Naruto sighed, "Damn you, Kabuto...it would've worked if only you weren't around."

 **He had also practiced the Rasengan enough to make one with both of his hands, even though Jiraiya and the Fourth could do it singlehandedly. Jiraiya was impressed with his results, so much that he gave the young Uzumaki a scroll for Master Sealing.**

 **The Toad Sage knew that he wouldn't get any farther in his fuinjutsu studies, and he had no shred of doubt that Naruto would reach Master. He also had total confidence that he would reach the final rank in fuinjutsu; Seal Weaver.**

"So that's that's the last sealing rank that was mentioned earlier, huh?" Twilight said.

 **It was rumored that Weavers were so proficient in fuinjutsu that they could make a seal made from pure chakra writing.**

"Hello!" Twilight said. Now THAT was interesting!

 **Right now, the blonde was in the middle of having his mana flow through his body. Celestia and Luna had informed him that some of the past Uzumaki reached a stage equivalent to something other Summon Clans referred to as "Sage Mode". What they called it was "Archmage", or people who use their mana _and_ chakra combined.**

The readers all whistled. That was impressive.

Chrysalis licked her lips, eyeing Naruto. Far as she was concerned, Naruto was already her dinner!

 **Archmages were masters of both mana and chakra, but they were only given the title when they could _combine_ the two energies into one. They were also proficient enough in both their human _and_ pony forms to, for lack of a better term, mix the two together. For example, if an Archmage needed their hands but also needed to fly to evade enemy attacks, they were skilled enough to call upon a Bubun Henge (Partial Transformation) instead of a full on Henge. It surprised Naruto that partial transformations were actual much harder than full scale ones; especially since the transformation needed wasn't the illusionary Henge. No, the transformation needed was Gitai (Mimicry), otherwise called an "advanced transformation".**

"Interesting." Sakura admitted.

 **It turns out that Naruto had accidentally performed the handseals for the Gitai no Jutsu when he first attempted the Henge no Jutsu. As a result, he learned the much more difficult transformation and he used it like the illusionary one, meaning that his transformation into an alicorn when he was with Twilight was an _actual_ transformation.**

Everyone's jaws dropped at that.

 **Now, he needed to narrow it down to smaller areas so that he can call upon only _parts_ of his alicorn transformation instead of the full version. But before he worked on that, he had to get a more fluid feel for his mana. His chakra control was doing great with Tsunade and Shizune giving his clones some new methods to try such as leaf floating, kunai balancing, and advancing the tree climbing and water walking.**

Naruto grumbled and Sunset squeezed his hand, she didn't want him feeling down on himself like before again.

 **He was interrupted from his meditation by Shizune and Tsunade coming into the room. "It's time, Naruto," Shizune said.**

 **"Okay… Could you run the plan by me one more time?"**

 **Nodding, Shizune started, "First, Tsunade-sama will head over under the guise of agreeing to Orochimaru's offer. If she doesn't succeed in stopping him, that's when you, Jiraiya-sama, and I step in and assist her."**

 **"Alright then… Let's get it started," Naruto stated as he left with them. The Toad Sage was already waiting for them outside. They all nodded to one another before Tsunade took off. Jiraiya, knowing how cautious and perceptive his old teammate was, had decided that he and the other two would hang back a good distance to avoid being seen or sensed.**

 **With the plan already in motion, the three left in blurs of speed.**

 **[Tanzaku Outskirts (20min Later)]**

 **"I'll heal your arms, but _only_ if you promise not to attack Konoha anymore," Tsunade said with a scowl that dared Orochimaru to try anything.**

 **The Snake Sannin chuckled and nodded. "Very well then… I won't attack Konoha, so long as you keep your end of the deal."**

 **Tsunade kept her scowl as she began to work on Orochimaru's arms. Her plan was to subtly mix a negative dosage of chakra into her healing jutsu, acting like a poison to Orochimaru.**

"Devious...I understand why, but..." Applejack shook her head, tricks like that just didn't mesh with her sense of honesty.

 **However, Kabuto was there as well, and he was quite the proficient medic shinobi.**

"...Unfortunately."

 **The result was Tsunade being found out and her chasing after the two escaping Oto-Nin with anger clearly visible in her eyes. Jiraiya and the others were close behind, but still far enough not to be detected.**

"Hopefully, other me makes a snake-skin belt this chapter." Naruto muttered.

 **By the time they reached Tsunade, they saw that she was on her knees, covered in blood that was not her own, and frozen in a state of shock. Jiraiya cursed at Tsunade still having a fear of blood from her memories of seeing her brother and lover dying from their bloody wounds.**

Everyone winced. Hemophobia and psychological scars...figured Orochimaru would play dirty like that.

 **"Ah, Jiraiya… I was wondering when you would show up," greeted Orochimaru with a smirk.**

 **"You're gonna pay for what you did to sensei, teme!" roared the Toad Sannin as he leapt into action against his ex-teammate. Kabuto was left to handle Shizune and Naruto.**

 **The Uzumaki started things off by throwing a shuriken that quickly multiplied into dozens via the Shuriken Kage Bunshin (Shuriken Shadow Clone) technique. Shizune was quick to follow with her Dokugiri (Poison Fog) technique.**

 **Kabuto was easily able to deflect the shuriken, and he evaded the fog with his Doton: Dochū Eigyo (Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish) technique. However, Naruto was prepared as his body was outlined in a yellow-green glow and he incanted, "Fortissimus Terrae, notissima sunt tibi ostendere fortitudinem!"**

"Mighty Land, show the strength you are most known for." Sunset supplied.

 **He then clapped his hands together as the aura he had shot into the earth beneath his feet and sent forth a massive tremor that shook Shizune's balance, stirred Tsunade from her shocked state, and cracked the ground Kabuto was hidden under. The cracked earth nearly crushed the follower of Orochimaru, but he was able to escape with a well timed Kawarimi (Replacement).**

 **"Not bad, Naruto-kun. Not bad at all," complimented Kabuto with a smirk as he fixed his glasses back into place. "But still not good enough," he finished as they both her a cry of pain and saw another Kabuto grasping Shizune's ankles with glowing palms.**

 ** _'Damn it! He got her with the_ _Chakra no Mesu_ (Chakra Scalpel) _!'_ **

"Scalpel made of energy, can make cuts inside the body without actually creating an open wound." Tsunade said to the mares.

 **cursed the blonde before he flew through handseals and cupped his hands together. With a thrust of his cupped hands, he called out, "Fuuton: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Gale Palm)!"**

 **The sudden wind jutsu caught Kabuto slightly off guard and forced him to brace his arms in front of his face. This left Naruto enough time to rush up to him with a seal tag in hand. As he made to place it on him, Kabuto swerved his body out of the way and stuck Naruto's right leg with his Chakra no Mesu.**

Naruto winced. He remembered that.

 **While it hurt enough to make him grit his teeth, Naruto released his hold on his seal tag before a golden chain shot out of his arm. The tip of the chain caught the floating tag, swerved back toward Kabuto, and stuck the seal right on his back.**

"I so love those chakra chains..." Kushina said.

"Think you could teach me to use 'em, mom?" Naruto asked. The things were damn useful!

Kushina nodded happily.

 **Before Kabuto could do anything, Naruto held up a half ram seal, activating the Seigen Fuiin (Restriction Seal) placed on Kabuto. The Oto-Nin felt his entire body freeze in place, unable to move a muscle.**

"Eat it, sucker!" Kiba laughed.

 **Naruto still had his teeth gritted in pain as he stood on his feet, the weight of his body causing pain to his injured leg. Fortunately, the Kyuubi was healing the damage even as he turned to face Kabuto's open back. Taking a bit to calm his heavy breathing, he slowly cupped his hands together again.**

Naruto smirked. Oh...he remembered this! Where was a camera!

 **However, this time a swirling mass of chakra formed in his hands in the shape of a sphere. He may dislike the Fourth for what he did,**

"Other me, dad." Naruto said.

Minato sighed and smiled haplessly, he knew that, but he would understand it if his son here felt the same as the one in the book.

 **but he couldn't deny that the fox was right about this jutsu; it was powerful.**

"Three...two...one...!" Naruto said gleefully.

 **"Rasengan!" roared the blonde as he drove the swirling sphere into Kabuto's back, right above the seal he placed on him.**

 **Explosive pain was the first thing Kabuto felt before he felt his feet digging into the earth as he was pushed forward by the pure power of the jutsu. Soon, he was lifted off of his feet and shot forward while spinning wildly in a corkscrew fashion, landing in a crumpled heap a fair distance away.**

"BOOM! Haha!" Naruto cheered.

 **Orochimaru and Jiraiya stopped their fight for a moment to see the damage and the snake was torn between being irked at the blonde causing serious damage to his subordinate and being impressed at another show of potential he had. Still, he couldn't let the boy go unpunished for hurting his henchman so badly.**

"This again, eh?" Tsunade said. Knowing the summon battle was about to start.

 **He easily fooled Jiraiya with a feint tactic that involved his Kusanagi (Grass Cutter) sword and made to strike against the Uzumaki.**

 **Unfortunately, he was so focused on his intended target that he missed the fist heading for his face until it struck, and it struck _hard_. Tsunade growled as her fist struck his cheek and sent him flying until his body hit the side of one of his summoned snakes.**

"Nice punch." Sunset commented.

Tsunade smirked. Oh...that HAD to have felt good!

 **"This is the end for you, Orochimaru," started the Slug Sannin. "As the new Godaime of Konoha, I'm going to put my life on the line for the sake of my shinobi and my home!"**

 **She then bit her thumb, seeing as she couldn't use the blood that was already on her since it wasn't hers, and went through handseals. Jiraiya caught on and copied his teammate while a still very damaged Kabuto appeared at his master's side in a Shunshin (Body Flicker) and ran Orochimaru's blood over one of the seals on his dead looking arms.**

"Necrosis...hope it hurt." Tsunade said smugly about her twisted ex-teammate.

 **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" the three cried at the same time, covering the plains in white smoke. When it cleared, the sight of Katsuya of the Slugs, Gamabunta of the Toads, and Manda of the Snakes was seen.**

Rarity let out a shocked "Gah." at the sight of the enormous slug and toad. So...icky...!

 **Tsunade stood on Katsuya with Shizune on her knees next to her due to her ankles not being fully healed. Jiraiya stood on Bunta while Orochimaru and Kabuto stood atop Manda. The sight of the legendary three summons of Konoha was quite intimidating and awing.**

"No fooling." Naruto said.

Fluttershy gapped, utterly awed at the sheer size of the three animals.

 **Naruto frowned at this before he bit his own thumb and performed the same technique,**

"Uh...Darling...? PLEASE tell me your other isn't..."

"Wish I could!" Naruto responded. What did his other think he was doing?! The mares could get hurt in the crossfire!

 **making the three Sannin and two other shinobi look to his direction. The smoke shot upward at incredible speed, leaving a trail behind it, before two white wings burst from it and flapped hard to stop its ascent.**

"Don't tell me...!"Luna gasped. Naruto's other...he wouldn't!

 **The force of the flap revealed Celestia in all her glory with Naruto standing on her back with his arms crossed.**

"Uhmmm...can I at least have time to write up a will?" Naruto squeaked at the glares sent his way by the Main Six and Luna, and even Sunset Shimmer looked aghast at this turn of events. Odds were, she wouldn't protect him this time!

"WHAT'S UP WITH DRAGGING...!" Luna shouted, but was cut off by her sibling.

"Enough." Celestia said, "It wasn't him that did this, merely his counterpart, and he has no control over that, so getting mad at the actual Naruto is pointless. Leave him be." the Sun princess said.

 **The sun shined down on them, making the alicorn glow somewhat while Naruto's spiky hair looked to be that of a miniature sun due to the sheen it had.**

Everyone looked at Naruto and Minato, who had the same hair.

"Not...A...Word..." the Yellow Flash said.

 **"Well, isn't this a surprise," Bunta commented as he blew out some smoke from his pipe. "The Princess of the Sun is seen on the battlefield once more…"**

Celestia and Luna shared a look. "Our others know those three?"

 **"You look well, Gamabunta-sama," politely greeted the alicorn before she nodded to Katsuya. "And I see that you have risen up to Head Summon for your race. Congratulations, Katsuya-sama."**

 **"Thank you, Celestia-hime," the slug replied with her own nod.**

Rarity looked ready to faint.

 **Celestia then turned to Manda and a frown was seen on her face. "Manda… I was wondering when I, my sister, or my summoner would face you. You still have to pay for having your henchmen enter our lands and nearly start a war."**

"WHAT?!" the transformed mares all shouted, shocked. War?! In Equestria?! That. Cannot. _Happen_!

 **The snake bared its fangs as it smirked. "Oh, believe me when I say that there _will_ be war… You can be sure of that, _Celestia_."**

"...Am I the only one that feels it can't be stressed enough that I HATE snakes...?" Naruto asked flatly, to which everyone nodded.

 **She flared her nostrils in annoyance. "Still as arrogant and foolhardy as ever… Naruto, brace yourself… This battle is going to be rough."**

"...At least there's gonna be help..." Sunset Shimmer said faintly, desperately looking for a bright side.

 **"I understand, Celestia-hime," Naruto replied as he went from standing to sitting on her back.**

"...Uh...is being on your back like that a bad thing in Equestria?" Naruto asked.

"Depends on if you asked or not, and if you didn't, then it depends on the situation and circumstances." Twilight said.

 **The alicorn nodded and stayed airborne with consistently calm flaps of her wings. Gamabunta slowly pulled out his dagger while Katsuya and Manda tensed their bodies for a fight.**

"Here we go..." Tsunade said.

"Naruto...Celestia better not get hurt." Luna warned.

He gulped.

 **Bunta was the first to act, using his powerful hind legs to propel himself at high speed toward Manda with a thrust of his weapon. The snake swerved his head out of the way**

"Hate his reflexes..." Taunade muttered. Manda was a lot of things, and quick was on of them, it was part of what made him so dangerous in a fight.

 **before he clamped his jaws on the knife. With a jerk of his head, he removed the knife from Bunta's grip and flung it away before going in for a bite.**

 **"Zesshi Nensan (Acid Slime)!" cried Katsuya as she sprayed a corrosive slime from her mouth**

Rarity went green in the face, she felt she was going to be ill.

 **at Manda while Bunta leapt out of the way. Manda rapidly shot away from the spraying acid, swerving around a large rock that was hit by it, before he wrapped his long body around the slug.**

 **He was about to plunge his fangs into her flesh before a white and orange bullet shot by him, leaving a large gash on the side of his face.** **He hissed angrily at Celestia**

"I know this is a different reality an all, but seeing as Katsuya's an old and trusted dear friend to me, I'd like to say thanks for watching out for her." Tsunade told the Sun Princess, who smiled and nodded.

 **who kept her momentum and turned back for another strike. On her back, Naruto was racing through handseals in a frantic manner before he finished and roared, "Fuuton: Hanachiri Mai (Flower Scattering Dance)!"**

 **Behind Celestia was a literal funnel of razor sharp cherry blossoms that spun and incredible speeds. Celestia herself called upon her chakra, making her horn shine bright like the sun and extend about ten feet. "Yōton: Taiyō no Yari (Light Release: Sun Spear)!"**

Celestia blinked. "Ok...that's interesting." she admitted.

 **Tucking her wings in close to her body, she shot forward at full speed with the funnel of sharp petals close behind.**

"This looks like it will hurt." Kakashi said, lips twitching under his mask.

 **Manda moved his head to evade, but Celestia was still able to slice into him with a jerk of her head. The extended horn cut deep into his scales before Naruto directed his jutsu at the wound. The petals cut around it, with some of them sinking into it to make it deeper.**

"Ok...ouch! Do it again!" Sakura cheered, causing Flutershy to gasp.

 **The hiss of rage and pain made Naruto grin while Celestia gave a satisfied nod, pleased that she hit him and that he was forced to release Katsuya from his grip. Her keen eyes also noted that Tsunade was pummeling away at Orochimaru after jumping off of Katsuya and onto Manda. Shizune and Kabuto were still too injured to help, leaving the Snake Sannin at his Slug ex-teammate's mercy.**

Tsunade smirked at that.

 **"Naruto, we need to halt Manda's movements," she stated, making her summoner nod before he slowly went through more handseals. After all, this element was still relatively new to him, and he needed to make sure he did it right. Celestia in the meantime flew circles around Manda, staying out of reach of his snapping jaws.**

Luna and the other mares paled, not liking Celestia in that situation.

 **As Naruto neared the last of his seals, he turned to Jiraiya and Bunta, calling out, "Hey you guys!" Getting their attention, he finished, "I need something to freeze Manda with!"**

 **Bunta smirked at that along with Jiraiya before the Sage went through a couple of handseals and Bunta inhaled deeply.**

 **"Suiton: Teppōdama (Water Release: Water Bullet)!" the duo cried, sending forth a combined shot of water as large as one of the Hokage Faces of Konoha's famous mountain. The bullet struck Manda right as Naruto completed his handseals and inhaled as much air as possible.**

 **With an exhale, he released his technique, "Hyōton: Kyokuchi no Shimo (Ice Release: Polar Frost)!" A fog as white as snow shot from his lips, surrounding Manda and freezing his soaked scales.**

"I like where this is going...can't hurt anyone if he's frozen in place."

 **Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Kabuto saw this before they all leapt off the slowly freezing snake and landed on the ground, though the Oto-Nin did so with little grace. Manda was left thrashing in anger, trying to keep his body from becoming frozen before his slitted eyes glared murderously at the alicorn and her summoner.**

 **"Mark my words Celestia, there will be war and your summoner will be one of the first that I will consume!" he hissed out before he left in a plume of smoke.**

Naruto and the Mares all paled.

 _'Please let Manda be dead already!'_ Naruto thought, sure it was an alternate reality, but he'd been eaten by giant snakes before and it was never pleasant.

 **Orochimaru frowned at this, but he couldn't help but feel incredibly pleased with Naruto's performance. _'Yes, I think I've seen plenty… Very soon Naruto-kun, you will see that I can offer you much more than the Leaf ever will.'_ **

"Ugh...he's still going on about that?" Kushina groaned.

 **He turned to his subordinate, who nodded, and the two left in twin burst of smoke.**

 **Jiraiya and Shizune both got off of the Head Summons and stepped up to Tsunade before the Toad Chief and Slug Boss left for their respective realms. Celestia landed close to the three and allowed Naruto to get off of her before she gave him a smile full of pride.**

 **"You did very well, Naruto. I'm pleased to see how far you've come with your training."**

 **He nodded in thanks. "I need to get stronger though if what I heard will come true. If war is coming between your people and the Snake Clan, then I need to be ready."**

"Trust you to have our backs." Rainbow dash said.

 **"That you will… But, I have no doubt that you'll be a major help in this fight. Keep up your training, and please come visit more often." She chuckled as she finished, "Twilight and the others miss seeing you."**

Naruto and the mares blushed.

 **She left with a chuckle as Naruto's cheeks dusted a faint red. With his own chuckle he muttered, "I'll be sure to do that."**

"That's the end of this chapter." Shino said, closing the book with a snap.


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as the groups set down the book, Naruto looked at Sunset shimmer as she grew more and more pale.

"You worried?"

"OF COURSE WE'RE WORRIED, DARLING!" Sunset cried.

"Relax...even if it's an alternate universe, at least Equestria won't fight alone. My other self won't allow it and neither would that alternate Konoha." the object of Sunset's secret crush assured her and the others.

"You seem pretty sure of that, Darling...how?" Sunset asked, she needed the reassurances...needed hope.

Naruto smiled, "Because," he said, "there's no how or why, it's our nature to be there for those who we care about when they need it. That's as true for Konoha as it is Equestria." The other ninjas all nodded firmly, showing they felt that way.

To say Celiestia and Luna weren't upset or worried was a lie. Even knowing it was merely an alternate universe didn't really help. Equestria was still their home. So they smiled at the way Naruto dispelled their concerns.

"He really is good at being a reassuring presence. No mystery why he's the Prince with all of the Elements of Harmony in his soul in the story...got to wonder what'll happen when his counterpart gets to the tree." Luna whispered to her sister who nodded. Naruto Uzumaki, the Prince of Harmony...she had to admit, it suited him. And Naruto coming across the Tree of Harmony would indeed prove interesting.

"Last chapter before another break?" Kushina asked, taking the book herself.

Everyone nodded.

 **Chapter 9: Facing Chaos**

At the title of the ninth chapter, Celiestia and Luna both started twitching, and the Mane Six groaned. Oh man...not this! Not again!

"Uh...what am I missing?" Sunset shimmer asked, concerned.

"You have no idea Sunset, and can I just say I admit I envy you for it..." Twilight said.

"He _did_ get better." Fluttershy pointed out.

"Who got better?" Choji asked.

"...You'll see..." Applejack said, sounding strained.

 **The travel back to Konoha was thankfully not too exciting. The only issue was a run in with one of Tsunade's debt collectors, but Jiraiya was quick to pay it off; much to his distress due to the number of zeros.**

Naruto snickered. "Funny...if it's such a big deal, then why's he carrying around that much like it's pocket change?" he smirked.

Tsunade laughed. "Nice point! How'd you figure that?" she asked Naruto with a grin.

"Saw his banking account book after he dropped it." he said, causing the two to reach over and high-five one another.

 **Naruto had decided to have Fluttershy walk around with him, much to her pleasure since she was especially fond of the surrounding nature and wildlife. She even got friendly with a bear! That was a surprise for the blonde Uzumaki.**

Kiba smirked. Dang! Could Fluttershy be any more perfect?! Akamaru gave his human a look. And he denied that he was crushing on the transformed yellow pony?

 **Tsunade had asked him about the Pony Summons that he had and Naruto had answered that they were very versatile and had their own unique skills and abilities.**

The collective mares all looked at Tsunade, who blushed and turned away. "I know, I know...but can you at least cut me some slack? If my grandmother couldn't find it when she was who PUT the scroll there, how was I supposed to know about that secret passage? Naruto's other self found it completely by chance, after all." she huffed in admission.

The mares shared a look, then nodded thoughtfully. True enough.

 **Fluttershy had helped with the conversation by showing off her Jinton, though she had shyly admitted that she preferred to be away from a battlefield and felt much more comfortable supporting or healing her partners.**

"Sounds like you...kind and helpful to a fault and T." Rainbow dash told her friend.

Flutershy blushed with a tiny smile at that.

 **The Slug Sannin was eager to teach her, as was Shizune who Fluttershy was especially comfortable around. The two had quickly become good friends and bonded over Tonton, healing herbs and fauna, and simple pleasures such as favorite teas and other things.**

Naruto blinked, then looked over at the pink-haired mare-girl. Then nodded "I can honestly see that. Her and Shizune being friends."

Tsunade nodded.

 **Naruto was glad that she had gotten comfortable with the others and was pleased that she had become more open around him as well. At first she was so soft spoken and a bit distant from him, but now she was speaking more confidently and didn't shy away from him…much.**

The mares all snicker as Fluttershy went scarlet.

"She really is a lot like Hinata..." Ino whispered in Sakura's ear, getting a smile and nod at that.

 **After a few days travel, they had reached the village gates and were met with relieved villagers; some even giving Naruto thankful and respectful nods. Fluttershy had returned to Ponyville before they reached the gates out of anxiety and Naruto was quick to let her know that he appreciated her company; although, she _did_ surprise him _and_ herself when she boldly kissed his cheek before leaving with a cherry red face. **

"Wait... _WHAT_?!" Rainbow dash cried, grinning like a loon. Everyone else that knew Fluttershy gawked at the projector image, shocked.

Kiba scowled as he tried to avoid lunging at Naruto. _'Alternate universe...alternate universe...that happened in an alternate universe...! Just gotta keep telling yourself Fluttershy kissed Naruto in an ALTERNATE! UNIVERSE!'_ he mentally chanted to himself.

 **The adults chuckled at that while Naruto simply gave a small smile.**

 **By the time they reached the Kage Tower, Tsunade had met with the Elders and had them call together a Council Meeting.**

Tsunade opened her mouth and stuck a finger in it in the sign for 'gag me' at that.

 **She wished to formally take the title of Kage in front of them while also having Naruto inducted as the new Uzumaki Head.**

Minato and Kushina beamed with pride at that.

 **Not even a half an hour later, the Council had been assembled and Tsunade stood before them beside Naruto with Shizune and Jiraiya hanging back. "This Council has been called together to instate Senju Tsunade as the Godaime Hokage. Is the Shinobi Council in agreement?" asked Koharu.**

"Surprised Danzo never spoke up..." Naruto scowled.

The ninja half of the reading group all muttered darkly in agreement at that.

 **Shikaku stood up and nodded firmly. "We are, Koharu-sama. We look forward to serving Tsunade-sama as our Godaime."**

 **She nodded before she turned to the Civilian Members. "And does anyone oppose on this end?"**

 **There were some murmurs before Haruno Mebuki stood up and shook her head. "No opposition here, Lady Koharu."**

 **The Elder nodded once again before Homura stood up from his seat and declared, "Then the Council recognizes you as Godaime Hokage. We look forward to serving you, Hokage-sama."**

 **Tsunade nodded and took her now rightful seat on the Kage's chair of the Council. "I thank you for your support and I promise to bring forth great changes to this village for the better. The first matter I'd like to bring up however is the induction of Uzumaki Naruto as Clad Head of the Uzumaki."**

"Oh, this'll be good..." Kushina said, pausing her reading.

 **Councilwoman Inoue smirked at that, finding the proposal as a way to help repay the Uzumaki for helping her win that large bet. She was one of the few from the Civilian side who looked to the teen with interest while the others regarded him with caution.**

Naruto hummed at that while everyone else smiled.

 **"I'd like to vote 'Yay" for his induction, Hokage-sama," she stated, smiling at him when he turned to her. "I believe we need more shinobi like Uzumaki-san in this village if what he showed at the Chunin Finals was anything to go by."**

 **"I agree with Inoue-san," declared Danzo**

"Can somebody kill me? Please? If that _THING_ is acting supportive, no good'll come of it." Naruto growled.

 **as he stood up. "Konoha needs competent shinobi, and if we were to enact the CRA on Uzumaki, we could bring back the strength once renowned by the Uzumaki Clan."**

Naruto went red and stuck his fingers in his ears.

"What's the CRA?" Twilight asked.

"Stands for Clan Restoration Act." Minato said, then seeing his wife's face, "What I _was_ Hokage, I _had_ to know this stuff." he said in his defense. Then he stood and went over to the mares and threw up a barrier around him and them, ans started talking, obviously telling them everything about the CRA, and when he finished and dropped the barrier, all their faces were red.

 **The Shinobi side all gave motions of agreement while Tsume grinned at the blonde**

Naruto both somehow paled and went red at that as he choked on his own siliva at that...so did Kiba! Neither liked the implications of that, given what was being voted on right now!

 **standing before them. The Civilian side was full of murmurs before Tsunade finally called for a vote. With only three out of the fifteen voters saying "Nay", Naruto was officially accepted as the Head of the Clan. Once Tsunade stated this, she had Naruto take his seat between Shikaku and Inoichi with an empty seat between himself and the Nara; the one for the Uchiha Clan.**

Kushina nodded, enjoying he was in that spot.

 **"Now, I move for the enactment of the CRA upon Uzumaki-sama," Danzo declared, making sure to show respect for the blonde's new position, much to the Uzumaki's suspicion.**

"And for good reason!"

 **"While the CRA is very useful, Danzo-sama, I believe it would be best to wait for Uzumaki-sama to reach an age more fitting for the Act. Fourteen is not an appropriate age for this," stated Shikaku, earning him a lot of points in Naruto's book.**

"Shikamaru...can I just say you're dad rocks?" Naruto said, making the shadow-user smirk.

 **"I agree," Tsume added. "The pup's too young, so it'd be best to wait a few years. Wait 'til he's seventeen at least.**

Naruto and Kiba both let out relieved sighs at that.

 **This could also give him time to find the appropriate number of willing candidates for his wives."**

Both Sunset Shimmer and Hinata growled at the thought.

 **"How many would I need to fulfill the CRA, Inuzuka-sama?" asked Naruto with hidden worry.**

"Excuse my language, but...no shit I'd worry about that!" Naruto said, getting his mom to smack him upside the head with the book. "Oooowww! Come on, mom! I have every reason to say that!" he whined.

She still glared at the swear as the mares all nodded at her actions, though they did feel Naruto had a bit of a point.

 **She seemed to sense it though, for she gave him her best attempt at a reassuring smile.**

Kiba clamped his eyes shut and plugged his ears, humming loudly to himself. He did NOT want any implied images defacing his mind!

 **"At least three would be required, Uzumaki-sama. We need to ensure you produce an heir or heiress for your clan and try to repopulate it."**

Naruto paled.

 **"You're minimum number is three, Uzumaki-sama," Aburame Shibi calmly interjected. "However, the Act has believed a maximum of six to be logically enough."**

Naruto paled further, while the Mane Six, thinking of their alternates, blushed. Oh, just great!

 **"I see," the whiskered blonde murmured as the Council went to a vote.**

 **At the end of the meeting, Naruto was declared to find at least three wives by his seventeenth birthday.**

Naruto let out a moan. Make it go away!

 **[The Next Day]**

"Thank you timeskip!" Naruto said.

 **The new Uzumaki Head walked through the village streets with his hands in his pockets and his cerulean eyes searching the vacated buildings of Konoha's red light district. There were quite a few, but Naruto needed a decent sized one for the order given to him by Tsunade as a "rebuilding" clan.**

"Why's that?" Sunset asked.

 **The order was simple; each clan in the village provides something to help bolster Konoha's power, wealth, or standing. As such, Naruto decided to find a building to be used to sell seals for the shinobi forces.**

The mares nodded. A contribution.

 **He sighed in annoyance since, in a way, Danzo got what he had requested of him before he left with Jiraiya.**

All the readers scowled at that.

 **Konoha is**

"Should be "was"." Twilight said, making her friends moans as Rainbow dash cackled. She was gonna be rich by the time this book was over!

 **getting high quality seals from one of the last Uzumaki in the Elemental Nations. However, at least Naruto had final say on _which_ seals he allows shinobi to purchase.**

Naruto and his mom smirked, take _THAT_ Danzo! HA!

 **This meant no Chakra Ken (Chakra Blade) seals for the masses. A good thing too since they would be abused in his eyes.**

"Smart call." Shikamaru said, nodding.

 **Finally stopping at a particular one, he pushed the door open to step inside. However, the door was so weak and unmaintained that it fell right off of its weak hinges. A sigh escaped his lips as he stepped further inside and out of view of bystanders.**

 **"Kuchiyose: Rarity," he declared as he pressed his hand against a weak looking support beam and summoned forth said unicorn.**

"Oh...this'll be good..." Choji chuckled.

Rarity scowled.

 **She smiled when she saw him before her entire visage took on one of absolute horror at that surrounding internal structure of the building.** **"Dear Equestria, _where_ are we?!"**

"I can actually picture myself acting that way..." Rarity shuddered.

 **Sheepishly, the blonde answered, "Well…we're actually in a vacated building that I wish to restore for clan purposes. To make sure that the Uzumaki _can_ be accepted as a restoring clan, I need to do something for the village's benefit. Thus," he opened his arms wide, "the location for the _Uzumaki_ _Shōten_ (Whirlpool Shop)!"**

 **"I…see," she hesitantly replied before she carefully took a step closer to him, afraid of brushing some of the dust with her tail…or _any_ part of her body. "And _why_ , pray tell, did you summon me here?"**

"Best have a good reason." the human-shaped-unicorn warned.

 **At this, Naruto smiled warmly. "Well, it's no secret that you are incredibly good at design. I mean, you've given me two great outfits lately and told me some time ago that you were in the process of a third. I was hoping you could help me in restoring this building and making it presentable for Konoha.**

"Ah...that _is_ a good reason." Rarity said with a nod while her friends rolled their eyes.

 **I'd give you _total_ artistic control over this, Rarity-chan."**

"...Gonna regret that..." Applejack muttered about the other Naruto's decision.

 **She blushed prettily at his compliment and the affectionate suffix added to her name. Humming in thought as she took another look at the inside, many different design ideas flew through her mind before one finally popped out and made her smile brightly. "Yes… Yes, I _do_ believe I have the most _glorious_ design for this little shop of yours! Oh my, so much to do!" She turned to him and he blinked as she was practically right in his face in excitement. "Oh Naruto _darling_ , you are simply the _best_!" she exclaimed before she kissed his cheek and started using her magic to clear the dust as Naruto blushed.**

"Glad Spike's not here, if he heard all that, he'd be crushed." Pinkie said in a whisper to Twilight, who nodded grimly at the thought.

 **Coughing to recompose himself, and because of the dust, he smiled back at her. "I'm just calling on the best person for the job, Rarity-chan. I look forward to your finished design."**

 **"Oh yes, of course dear! I promise you that you will _absolutely_ love it!" she giddily replied as he left.**

"Doubtlessly he will." Rarity said, feeling pleased by her other self's recognition.

 **As soon as he stepped outside, he placed up a couple of seals to restrict access to anyone who was too curious for their own good. Once that was finished, he made his way to Tsunade's office to let her know what he planned to do and gave her a small list of seals he would sell. There were basic storage seals, bomb seals (both regular and advanced), restriction seals, paralysis seals, and the most valuable would be the Chakra Kaifuku(Chakra Recovery) seal.**

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!...What was that last one?!" Ino cried.

"Chakra recovery seal, fill it up with stored chakra and when you need it, just activate the sealand it'll load you full of the stored chakra...very useful in a bad situation." Kushina nodded, pleased.

"No fooling its useful...and to think there was an entire village full of people that knew how to make things like that..." the Yamanaka said with a shiver. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I can see why people were that afraid of Uzu."

Minato, Kushina, and Naruto frowned. They understood that, but they didn't like it.

 **The Godaime was pleased with the plan and gave it her official seal of approval, cementing Naruto's clan being regarded as "restoring" amongst the populace once the shop was up and running. This left Naruto with a few more things to do regarding his clan. Apparently, according to what Jiraiya and Tsunade had informed him, Naruto was able to take in others and have them as "honorary" clan members. As such, he needed to make rules for them to follow.**

 **He smiled as he knew _exactly_ what to make the first rule. By the end of the day, he had a personalized plaque made that had the clan's most sacred rule of all inscribed on it:**

 ** _The Uzumaki Creed is thusly: Family over Pride, Family over Glory, Family over All._**

The mares all smiled at that, no matter how many times they heard it, it was still a good one.

 **This Creed would act as the foundation for all of the Uzumaki's future Clan Laws. Naruto was proud to say that the restoration was progressing very well. However, he had to put it on hold when a messenger hawk cawed from above and landed next to him on a nearby bench.**

 **Turning around, the hawk presented a scroll to him which he opened and read. He sighed at reading an update on Kakashi and Sasuke's conditions after Tsunade healed them. He was glad Kakashi was alright and sort of relieved that Sasuke was as well. At least it would get Sakura off his back if she decided to blame him.**

"I would not! I'd just be glad Sasuke was better!" Sakura said.

"I know you would." Naruto said with a nod.

 **He wrote a reply that he understood and that he would continue with his clan duties before he sent the hawk back to the Hokage. Not even a minute after doing so, he felt a tug on his chakra before he vanished in a plume of smoke.**

 **[Canterlot Throne Room]**

"Here we go..." Twilight said with a tone like she was preparing for a high dive.

 **Blinking in surprise, Naruto took notice of the land outside the windows of the castle in absolute disarray. Buildings were floating upside down, the roads were slippery with super bubbly soap, the skies were raining…chocolate?**

Naruto looked thoughtful. Other than the floating buildings, seemed pretty harmless. Inconvenient, sure, but as a master prankster himself, he knew that was part of the territory when you were messing with someone for laughs.

 **"O…kay," he slowly mumbled before he turned to look at the Elemental Mares, save for Rarity.**

 **Twilight looked sheepish as she addressed him, "Glad you could make it Naruto. As you can see…we have a bit of a problem."**

"More than a bit..." Applejack groaned.

 **"A _bit_ , huh?" he asked in a deadpanned tone. **

"Even my other finds that an understatement." Naruto said, shaking his head.

 **"What the hell happened to this place?"**

"Explain, please!" Sunset said, feeling panicked over the state Equestria was in.

 **"Discord happened," Dash answered with a frown. "He took the Elements of Harmony and he won't give them back."**

 **"Uh, who is Discord, now?"**

"Murphy's law...hate that thing!" Sakura grumbled..

 **A sudden voice spoke from right behind him and the blonde turned to see a dragon-like creature merged into the stained glass window. "That would be me." The pieces of stained glass that made up the creature suddenly burst from the window, breaking it entirely before they grew in size and gained a natural form.**

 **Standing before Naruto was a creature that could only be described as a chimera. Its head was horse-like, though much different from other ponies' head styles. It had a deer antler on the right, a blue goat horn on the left, one long fang, different-sized pupils, a snake tongue, a goat beard, and white bushy eyebrows. Its right arm resembled that of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. In addition, it had a bat's right wing, a Pegasus' left wing, a horse's mane and a dragon-like snake's tail with a white tail tuft while the shape of its body resembles that of a snake.**

Sunset's jaw dropped. No way...he existed?! Sure she'd heard of Discord, but this was her first time seeing one of her old teacher's most powerful enemies!

 **With a grin, Discord spoke, "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. A _pleasure_ to make your acquaintance."**

 **Narrowing his eyes, the blonde replied, "Uzumaki Naruto, Chunin of Konoha, Summoner of the Ponies, and new Clan Head of the Uzumaki."**

 **A gleam came to Discord's eye as he snaked around Naruto, extending his body to incredibly long proportions. "You also forgot your old title; The Prank Master from Hell!**

"WHAT THE...?!" Naruto cried, eyes widening, "How did he...? Who told...? My old..." he sputtered.

 **I honestly _love_ a good prank. It shows a healthy dose of chaos, which we _all_ need to experience from time to time." He suddenly got in Naruto's face, practically touching foreheads with him. "Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Prankster?"**

The mares all paled. Oh...just perfect!

"...Discord was looking forward to meeting him..." Celestia said in a small voice as Luna gulped.

 **Not flinching, the Uzumaki answered, "I suppose… However, there's such a thing as 'taking it too far' after all. And what you've done to Ponyville proves to me that you lack control over your own childish desires."**

Naruto made a face at that. Oh god...his other sounded so... _prudish_!

 **Discord merely grinned and turned into hundreds of bubbles that all popped into a large puddle on the floor that had his face reflected in it. "Oh come now, Naruto. I'm _Chaos Incarnate_! I can't be tied down by foolish words such as 'control'! I need to let my powers run free!"**

"Sad thing is, he had a point..." Rainbow dash said grimly.

 **"What you need is to stop this nonsense!" Naruto retorted, glaring at the puddle that evaporated and turned into steam before suddenly everyone was teleported outside and standing under the chocolate rain. "You're not helping out Ponyville _or_ Equestria with your antics! Don't you realize that there's a _war_ coming in the future?! Don't you even _care_ about this place?!"**

"Why can't _you_ ever be that mature?" Sakura asked Naruto.

Pinkie frowned at that. At least the actual Naruto remembered what "fun" was, the story version was starting to be a too-serious, party-pooper!

 **The storm clouds all gathered together, making a cloudy silhouette of Discord with lightning outlining his facial features. "War, is it? I think it's _you_ who fails to see what will happen. After all, to me war is simply a much more potent form of chaos! And I do _love_ me some outside chaos! I can't be causing disharmony _all_ the time, you know! Other people and creatures need to cause some of their own sometimes!"**

"Ok... _THAT_ is _BEYOND_ being sick, twisted, and wrong!" Naruto said.

"We know...there was a reason we petrified him..." Celestia said.

 **"Dammit Discord, this isn't the time to fool around!" raged Naruto as he sent a burst of snow and wind at the clouds, making them disperse. "What happens when the war becomes _too_ chaotic for you to take control of?! What happens if something overpowers _you_ with chaos?!"**

 **"Not an issue for me," answered the chimera as he appeared behind Naruto, leaning his head down over the blonde's left shoulder. "To me, chaos is chaos! No need to worry about it overtaking me or worry about how it affects what's around me."**

 **Naruto growled as he absently noted the Elemental Mares searching frantically for the Elements of Harmony. "Why can't you see that you're making things worse for this world? Don't you understand that these ponies have lived happily for a long time before you came and wrecked the place? Just look, dammit!"**

 **He pointed to the many ponies panicking over the ensuing chaos and frantically trying to help one another out. What really got the Uzumaki angry was the sight of a young filly, scared and alone, calling out for her mother as she cried out in fear at everything that popped out at her.**

Naruto growled at that.

 **"These ponies have done nothing to you that would warrant all of this chaos happening to them!" Naruto continued to rant as he walked up to the filly and gently picked her up in his arms, frowning as she shivered in his grasp. He turned his face to Discord, who was staring at him blankly, as he formed a clone to look for the filly's mother. "Just how much chaos will it take to satisfy you, Discord? How many lives do you have to ruin before you finally realize…enough is enough?"**

"Ok...as much as I'm starting to dislike the guy, my other's got a point." Naruto nodded.

"Discord's never had a positive influence at this point though. Not really his fault he was that way." Fluttershy said.

 **The chimera just stared at him as his clone came back with a mare that immediately hugged her daughter and thanked the blonde repeatedly before she and her daughter ran off. "Why do you help them when you have more chaos to deal with than I've created?"**

 **He glared at the chaotic being as he pulled a stallion out of his cupcake prison and helped him to his hooves. "I help them because I've suffered enough and would _never_ wish it upon anyone else. To my village, I'm just a demon in human skin; a monster that should've died long ago. You don't have to be like me in the eyes of these ponies, Discord. You can _make_ something of yourself and have them give you a chance! Admit it; you aren't really as aloof about the fate of this place as you say you are. Deep down, you want to be accepted and be seen as something great instead of the monster you will be seen as if you continue."**

Fluttershy nodded at the other Naruto's words. They were true about Discord. But how could he prove he wasn't bad if he was never given a fair chance before? That was the problem.

 **"Bah! You know nothing about me!" the chimera yelled at him in growing ire. "You don't know what it's like to be _born_ different and with powers that will _never_ be seen as 'good' or 'harmonic'!"**

"Wrong thing to say..." Kushina said heatedly. Being her son's predecessor for hosting Kurama, she knew you never say things like that to a Jinchuriki!

 **"You think I don't know?!" raged back the blonde, his chakra surging against Discord's own chaotic mana. "Didn't you hear me before?! I'm a demon, a monster, a plague, a worthless creature! What about you?! What were you before you decided to spread your chaos around the world?!"**

 **That actually made the Spirit of Chaos flinch back and recede his power. He tried to look the Uzumaki in the eye, but those pools of accusatory blue made him look away. They practically pierced his soul with their gaze.**

The mares all winced at the look on the other Naruto's face.

 **"I…was once a ruler of this place," he answered. "At first, I was accepted before I let my power take over me…and became _this_! It was only thanks to Celestia and Luna that I was taken down and sealed away, but my powers only festered inside. I swore revenge and let the power continue to blind me…"**

Everyone winced. Power overload had altered his mind and warped his body. They'd all seen things like that at one point or another.

 **Naruto pulled back on his surging chakra and looked to the chimera sadly. Walking up to him, he placed a hand on his shoulder and declared, "You can still do what's right. You just need to learn to control your own power and use it for the _benefit_ of this place. Equestria needs the help of _everyone_ , Discord."**

 **The chimera looked down in deep thought before an idea struck him. "I have one more game I want to play…and this time I wish to try and best the Prank Master from Hell."**

Everyone except Naruto paled at that.

 **Narrowing his eyes, Naruto asked, "What is it?"**

 **"Riddles," answered Discord, making the blonde raise a brow. "You and I will have a Game of Riddles and stakes will be made."**

 **"Stakes?"**

 **"That's right! If _I_ win, you must relinquish the Pony Contract and never set foot in this place again. In exchange, I will have you sign a contract between myself and you." Grinning, he continued, "This way, Ponyville and Equestria are free from chaos…but they lose their salvation."**

"I don't like that..." Celestia muttered.

"Relax...Darling will win." Sunset said as if it was as inevitable as a person's next breath, "after all, if Discord was actually looking forward to meeting him, that meant he actually admired him and will have to work to win."

Everyone stared at her. Sheesh...that was some faith she had in Naruto, but the weirdest thing was how Hinata was nodding along with Sunset Shimmer's logic.

 **Glaring, Naruto asked, "And should you lose?"**

 **"Should I lose, I will still leave this place alone and free from chaos, and I'll willingly let myself be resealed."**

The mares that had to deal with Discord whistled. Those were some stakes!

 **The two locked eyes for some time before Naruto finally nodded. "Deal. You start."**

 **"Very well… _What has roots as nobody sees,_ _is taller than trees; up_ _, up it goes,_ _and yet never grows?_ _"_**

"Mountain..." Naruto yawned, Come on, Discord, make him work for it!

 **Naruto frowned at this before a sudden thought came to him. "While we play, I want you to return everything to normal."**

 **"Of course," replied the chimera as he restored everything with a snap of his eagle claw.**

The mares nodded at that.

 **"There we are. Now, answer the riddle."**

 **Nodding, the Uzumaki paced as he thought over each part of the riddle while the citizens of Ponyville watched in silence. The Elemental Mares watched on as well with worry etched on their faces before they saw Naruto perk up.**

 **"A _Mountain_ ," he declared, making Discord smirk.**

 **"Correct! Your turn."**

 **Naruto hummed in thought before he began, " _Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, and then they stand still_."**

Naruto rolled his eyes. Seriously?! THAT was the best the other him could do?! Teeth?!

 **The chimera smirked at the riddle before he began to float with a thoughtful look. "Interesting idea… However, the wording is far too human for my taste. The answer is _Teeth_."**

 **"That's right."**

 **"Of course it is! Now then… _Voiceless it cries, wingless it flutters, toothless it bites, and mouthless it mutters_."**

"Wind.." Naruto droned. This was so BORING!

 **The blonde scowled at this one as he paced once more. "You really do like causing chaos… My mind's going crazy trying to come up with an answer." He continued to pace before he felt a small breeze brush against his skin, making him perk up. "I got it; it's _Wind_!"**

 **Snapping his finger, Discord nodded. "Yes, that is correct…"**

 **"Alright, let's see… How about this one? _A box without hinges, key, or lid; yet golden treasure inside is hid_."**

 **"Ooh! A tricky one for sure," praised the Chaotic Spirit as he continuously floated in thought, orbiting Naruto from above. "Well, not everything that has 'golden treasure' is a box. The answer, dear boy, is an _Egg_."**

 **"Damn," he cursed, though he had a small grin. "Thought I had you with that one…"**

 **"You might have, if I were any less a chaotic being. Now then, let's see you get _this_ one! _All things it devours; birds, beasts, trees, flowers. It gnaws iron, bites steel, and grinds hard stones to meal. It slays king, ruins the town, and beats the high mountain down_."**

"Time...speaking of, he's making me fall asleep here with these easy ones...can I got sleep for a few hours?" Naruto said with a yawn.

 **The ponies all murmured at this one while Twilight wracked her brain for the answer. Naruto meanwhile was thinking over the words of the riddle as well, though he decided to take a seat as he thought. " _All things it devours_ …" he repeated thoughtfully.**

 **"Tick tock, tick tock," Discord pressed, making Naruto pause in his thinking. "You're making me run out of patience…"**

 ** _'Wait a minute… Could it really be…?'_**

 **"Figure it out yet?" asked the Kyuubi in annoyance. Riddles were never enjoyable to the fox and this "Game of Riddles" was getting on its nerves.**

 ** _'Maybe…'_**

 **Before the teen could continue, Discord gave an "Oh well" gesture with his hands. "Time's up."**

 **He was surprised though when the blonde actually chuckled. "You just answered your own riddle there, Discord. The answer is _Time_."**

"Idiot..." the actual Naruto said, " throw the answer in my face, why don't you?"

"Darling...could you not sound so egotistical?" Sunset asked.

"Sorry Sunset, but come on, really? He can mess with reality, but can't give me a hard riddle when he _knows_ I think the same way he does and actually _wanted_ to meet me because of that fact? What's up with that?" he asked.

Sunset had to nod, she'd give Darling that one.

 **Twitching at his own mess up, Discord huffed in annoyance through his nostrils, making purple smoke burst out. "Well, go on and ask me the riddle! This one will decide it!"**

 **Naruto nodded before he paced in thought. He thought of every riddle he ever knew, but they were all easily answerable to the Chaotic Spirit. He turned to his friends and saw them smile in support before it hit him.**

"This should be good..." Twilight grinned.

 **"Alright, I got one for you. _From the soul of the Whirling Tide, this Creed shall always reside. This answer shall be for Eternity, the very Creed of the Uzumaki_."**

Everyone snickered. They knew the answer.

 **Discord, who was at first grinning at seeing the teen squirm at trying to come up with a riddle, suddenly paled at the one that was given. It was worded exactly like a riddle would be and the answer obviously existed since the Elemental Mares suddenly perked up and smiled together. He gulped as he began to sweat at his wracking brain. Dozens of answers flew through his mind before he finally came to an epiphany.**

 ** _'I…I lost,'_ he thought in total shock before he turned to a smiling Naruto. "I…don't know the answer," he admitted before he fell to his knees. "Y-You won…"**

Celestia, Luna and the Mane Six's jaws all dropped.

"See? I told you, nothing to worry about. Darling could handle it!" Sunset said, beaming triumphantly.

 **It was silent for a few seconds before Pinkie cried out, "He won!" The ponies all began to cheer with delight while Pinkie and the others all hugged Naruto and thanked him for his efforts.**

 **"Wait a minute!" Discord cried out. "What was the answer?! What is _the very Creed of the Uzumaki_?!"**

 **A sudden flash of radiance covered the land as Celestia and Luna descended from the clouds. Landing before a still shocked Discord, Celestia offered him a hoof to help him up. It took a few moments, but he finally accepted and was helped to his feet.**

 **"The answer, Discord is this," Celestia started.**

 **" _Family_ ," Luna finished with a smile towards Naruto. "The Creed of the Uzumaki orders members of the clan to place one thing above all others."**

"Boo-ya!" Naruto smirked.

His parents beamed with pride at their son.

 **"And that answer is _Family_ ," Naruto stated as he stepped up to Discord. "The full Creed goes: _Family over Pride, Family over Glory, Family over All_. It is the one law that I will hold above all others when my clan is fully restored. And Discord…" He extended a hand to the Spirit of Chaos who stared at the teen in wonder. "I'd like to invite you into my family."**

 **This shocked everypony there, save for Celestia and Luna who both had soft smiles on their faces for their Summoner.**

"So...he reforms Discord? Just like that?" Applejack said.

Fluttershy nodded, feeling happy for the alternate of the chimera.

 **"You are as much a part of this world as everypony else in Ponyville and Equestria. As such, it's only right and fair that I offer you kinship. So, Discord of Chaos," he began, making the chimera give him full attention, "will you accept?"**

 **Discord looked to the other ponies, seeing some who looked apprehensive while others gave him small smiles. The biggest shock came from the little filly who Naruto had helped before. When he locked eyes with her, she didn't flinch away. Instead, she gave him the brightest of smiles and a reassuring nod as she leaned into her mother.**

 **Smiling back, he nodded to her before turning back to Naruto. "I accept…Lord Uzumaki."**

"That's OUR kid!" Kushina cheered as Minato laughed.

 **[Hidden Lair in Rice Country]**

"Oh great...him again?!" Naruto moaned.

 **"You both understand the task Orochimaru-sama has given you?"**

At Orochimaru's name, the readers all groaned. The creep just would NOT go away! What was he, a snake or a cockroach?!

 **asked Kabuto to two silhouettes**

"Wonder who those two are?" Tsunade frowned.

 **who both nodded silently from their bowed positions. "Good, then leave and get it done."**

 **Without another word, the two silhouettes disappeared in twin blurs, leaving Kabuto to smirk at the brilliance of his lord's plan.**

"Yeah right...!" Kiba snorted. "What's that psycho's half-baked scheme this time?!"

Kushina nodded, but one look at the next line and she went pale, understanding the significance of it.

 **Meanwhile on the floor, a few strands of red hair were seen glinting in the artificial lighting**.

"Uh...is that suppose to mean something?" Rainbow dash asked.

Kushina and Tsunade nodded, both looking shaken.

"Yeah...and for Naruto's other...something bad." Kushina said.

Everyone gulped as the book was set down.


	11. Chapter 11

"Darling, relax...there's only three more chapters in the book." the rocker-classified girl of Canterlot High School said as Sunset and Naruto sat in their suite.

Naruto sighed. "That's just it...I'm on the fence about that." he confessed.

"On one hoof...er...hand, I mean...you hate the book and want it over with already, but on the other, if finishing it means we all go back to where we were before..." Sunset said, trailing off with a wince. Ouch...talk about a nasty situation.

Naruto gulped and nodded. "I hate the book, but I love this place. My friends are here, my parents are here...is it wrong of me to want things to stay like this?" he asked.

Sunset winced. Poor Darling...How awful...

Worse yet, as much as she wanted to, she didn't know how to help him! It left a feeling of sick helplessness engulfing her, especially given her feelings towards him!

She needed help with this. Serious help. Someone that knew how to get through to people and understood their feelings. Someone who could have come across this problem, or at least a similar one, before and knew what should be done to help.

As Sunset racked her brain, someone _did_ come to mind. Fortunately, they were here in this space with them. Unfortunately...it was the one person Sunset wanted to avoid, or at least have there be others around when they were together.

Aw crud...!

No choice.

She stood up and took Darling's hand, then pulled him out of the suite and into the main room, heading for a door with a mark on it that was made to look like half of a sun, while the other half looked like the moon.

"Wait here for a bit, ok Darling?" Sunset asked, then went inside and closed the door behind her. A few moments later, she came back out and took his hand. "They'll want to speak to you," she said before pulling him inside.

Seeing the mark on the door, Naruto wasn't all that surprised when he saw whose room it was.

"So...what did you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked the three transformed mares, having been taken by Sunset to the room that the Princesses shared.

The color scheme of the whole room, from floor to ceiling, were ones associated with dusk or dawn, (when the moon and sun are closest together), two comfortably sized beds, and a large master bath.

Seated in a chair, Celestia asked in response, "Is something bothering you, Naruto?"

He blinked at the inquiry. "Um... Not that I know of... I mean, besides seeing how better this other version of me is, I can't think of anything else that's bothering me."

"So, the possibility of losing your parents again after this book is finished doesn't bother you?" pressed the Sun Princess, making Naruto flinch. She sighed at this, slightly guilty at throwing that at him, but he needed to get his feelings out. "Naruto, it's okay to feel frustrated about this. My sister and I both lost our parents too," Luna looked depressed at this, making Celestia reach over to grasp her hand, "so I won't deny that I'd feel scared about finishing this book if we were in your place."

"But...do we really have to finish it?" Naruto asked, and the women felt their hearts tug at his desperate tone. "Don't get me wrong, I want this to end so that I don't have to keep reading about the other me and my...his...ugh...you know what I mean...that other me's personal thoughts on the life my other lives...but I don't want things to go back, either. I have my parents, my friends are here, and I got to meet you all; and you girls are great friends!"

The Princesses smiled at his compliment while Sunset's smile was a tad strained. Having admitted to Kushina and herself that she had developing feelings for Naruto, it hurt a little to be just a "friend" when she wanted to be more.

Naruto looked down and sighed deeply, his body trembling, "I know we should finish this so that everyone can go home...but part of me doesn't want to finish it... It's selfish of me, but for my entire life I've never really done anything selfish. I may have wanted to be Hokage for selfish reasons at first, but even that reason changed when I realized just what being Hokage meant..."

"You sound horribly conflicted," noted Luna, her tone one of understanding. "You're being pulled in two different directions by your conscience, which feels that it's only fair to everyone to finish the book, and your heart, which wants to leave things as they are right now so that you can be happy."

Naruto only nodded as he slumped on the floor of their room, leaning against their closed door with an air of conflicted depression coming from him. Sunset herself looked conflicted. She wanted to go over and comfort him, but she didn't know what she could do or say to help him. It was tearing at her; and both the Sun and Moon mares saw this. While it was heartwarming to see a "Maiden of Love", it was also heart _breaking_ to see her looking so helpless in front of her "love".

Turning to each other, Celestia and Luna shared a silent conversation, using the link they shared with their magic to speak in private. The room had an awkward silence about it as Naruto tried to clear his confliction, Sunset tried to think of a way to comfort Naruto, and the Princesses debated ideas. The awkward silence was broken by a knock at the door.

"Sweetheart," came Kushina's voice, "I know you're in there. Kurama called out to me from my damaged seal."

Looking to the Princesses and getting their permission, Naruto moved away from the door so that his mother could enter the room. "Mom... I..." he tried to say, but words were lost to him.

She smiled sadly and just opened her arms. "Come here," she said softly, and he complied almost immediately, sharing an embrace with her. "Naruto...You're a splendid ninja, and an even greater man. You have the heart of a Hokage and want everyone to be happy; even at the cost of _your_ happiness." She rubbed his back soothingly as she continued, "I know you're afraid of what will happen when this book is over, but don't give into that fear. Even if your father and I will have to leave again, we'll just have to make the most of the time we have together. And if we do leave, we will **never** stop sending you our love and support; both of which you hold here." She placed a hand on his chest, right over his heart. "It will hurt, I won't lie, but never doubt how much we love you, Naruto."

She finished her speech by kissing his forehead, pouring every ounce of her love into it so that he could feel it for himself. When she pulled back, she gave him a smile so warm that it could've melted the most frozen of hearts; so he couldn't help but return it, even through his building tears. The others in the room all fought their own tears at the heartwarming scene.

"As for our new companions," Kushina continued, surprising the women at how she viewed them, "I'm sure that you, your father, and me can come up with a seal that could connect our worlds together outside of this space we're in." She looked over to the Princesses and added, "I'm sure you both would also be willing to help in that regard, correct?"

Sunset spoke up on their behalf, much to their silent amusement. "Yes, we'll do whatever we can!" she almost exclaimed, her heart spurring her on. "We've all made new bonds through this experience...and I-... I mean _we_ don't want to lose those bonds we've made!"

She was blushing at her slight slip-up, and it grew when the women looked at her, all of them even more amused. As for Naruto, he didn't catch it; but he still smiled at how she wanted to help keep their friendships connected. Turning to his mother, he smiled more confidently and nodded. "Yeah...with the Hokage, a badass, and their son working together with Equestria, I bet we'll have a seal ready in no time, ttebayo!"

"That's the spirit, ttebane!" cheered Kushina, beaming at how her son called her a badass. It filled her with motherly pride. "Now, what do you say we go discuss possible formulas with your father?" she suggested, leading Naruto out of the room while he grinned in agreement. Looking back over her shoulder, she mouthed a grateful thanks to the others while giving Sunset a supportive thumbs-up behind her son's back. As far as she was concerned, Sunset had her full support for going after her son. She had no doubt that the girl would be a positive influence on him.

Meanwhile, Sunset looked relieved and anxious. Relief filled her at seeing Darling out of his funk while anxiety grew at her not having a plan to convey her feelings to Naruto. Luna and Celestia saw this, and the Moon mare suggested, "If you ask me, I'd say you should just tell him, Sunset."

"W-What?!" she asked in shock, surprised at the rather simple advice.

"Naruto is a compassionate individual, but he comes off as..." Celestia began, trying to find a polite word to use.

"He's as dense as the hardest gems of the Crystal Kingdom," Luna deadpanned, completely straight-faced about it while Celestia sputtered at the blunt analogy.

"W-Well, while I wouldn't be as...direct about it as my sister, I have to agree. Just tell him face-to-face without beating around any bushes or stalling. Lay it all out for him to hear. It's the best thing you could try, Sunset."

The red-and-blond haired girl gulped anxiously and bit her nails. This was gonna be tough! Sure, her and the Flash Sentry from Canterlot High had been an item, but that was when she was her old self. And by Harmony; she was horrible back then! She'd never had a romantic interest in Flash Sentry and only dated him to make herself more popular! It made her shudder with absolute self-loathing when she recalled how she used to be! "I...I...I just...I can't! I mean...look at how much trouble I had with friendship! And now I'm supposed to...!"

 _'He was already my first kiss, wasn't it enough that I gave him that? How can I be expected to tell him that I...I...'_ Sunset felt like tearing her hair out with how useless this thought process was. If she couldn't even admit to how she felt about him in her own head, how could she expect to express herself to him vocally?

Luna sighed, it wasn't hard figuring out what was going through the head of her sister's former student. Poor girl...never had to deal with something like this before. As much as Sunset _wanted_ to let him know, she had no idea how to handle the situation. The moon princess could understand how her sister's former student could be drawn to the blond Uzumaki; he may have been dense, but Naruto was also very attentive and supporting, he was kind, protective, positive, and good-hearted.

Speaking of... "I think I'll go assist Naruto and his parents." Luna said, getting up and walking away, causing Sunset to pale as the door shut behind the dark mare.

As soon as Sunset and Celestia were alone together, a DEFCON 1.-class awkward, tense silence ruled the room as Celestia and Sunset were both very aware of being alone with one another as the enstranged pair both tried to find out what to say to one another. They just didn't know.

"...Princess, I..." Sunset finally tried to say, but she stopped short. Then she took a deep breath. This was why she had avoided being alone with her old teacher.

"...Princess, I...I know...it's been a long time, and...and you must be furious with me..." she squeezed her eyes shut, ashamed tears leaking through them, "...for running away. For acting selfish. For being stupid and a failure, and...well, I just...I just want you to know..." the tears sprang more freely now. She didn't even try to stop them, "That I am so, so sorry, princess! I am so sorry for everything I've done! I...I wish I could just go back in time and-!" Sunset was cut off, stunned; as Celestia, with her eyes closed and crying herself, suddenly hugged her.

Sunset's eyes snapped open in shock and she pulled away, "H-h-h-how?!" she asked, not understanding, "How are you not angry with me?!"

Celestia took a breath, tears still in her eyes, "My dearest student...I was never angry with you. I was angry with me, for letting you wander astray. I'm sorry, Sunset."

"W-What?" gasped out Sunset. She wasn't expecting that! "What do you mean you're sorry?! I should be saying that to you!"

"Sunset," the princess tried to say, but her estranged student wasn't done.

"I betrayed your trust! You taught me so much, and I was so impatient and arrogant that I couldn't even see what you were truly trying to teach me!" She shook her head as further tears formed in her eyes. "I should've seen what you wanted me to learn and about how important it was to bond with others instead of just doing everything for myself!" Her hands covered her eyes as the tears started to fall. "I was so stupid! A-And I'm so sorry!"

Celestia looked down at the young woman overtaken by tears and regret. It hurt to see just how much pain Sunset was expressing; especially when Celestia wasn't angry at her in the slightest. She smiled slowly as she moved over to Sunset, helping her to her feet.

"Shh, it's alright," she assured, rubbing the girl's back in comfort. "You don't need to apologize." She then offered Sunset a tissue, which she gratefully took to dry her eyes. "I'm not upset with you, Sunset. In truth, I'm incredibly proud of you and how far you've come since you left."

Sunset's eyes widened at that and she looked at her old mentor. "...W-What?"

Celestia's smile grew. "Look at how far you've come on your own! You learned on your own what I failed to teach you. You know how important it is to have others you care about. I know about the Sirens, and how you saved both worlds from being torn apart when Twilight's alternate was overwhelmed by magic. You found a way into this place with us, you changed the space itself for our benefit, and you've become an Alicorn! I always knew you would excel, but you've more than exceeded my expectations."

"I... You..." Sunset was speechless, too stunned by how the person she had so deeply betrayed and let down still cared about and, what was more, was actually proud of her. It became too much for her, and she clutched onto the princess, weeping into her chest while Celestia held her close. Through her tears, she was able to choke out, "Thank you!"

Celestia only smiled and comforted her student.

"...I didn't learn about friendship alone...it takes more than one person to do that...can't learn friendship by yourself...I made so many mistakes..." the young mare said.

Her old mentor smiled and chuckled, "True about learning friendship...I swear, you should've seen Twilight in her first attempts when she first came to Ponyvill..."

Sunset pulled back, stunned stupid by the sheer concept of the Princess of Friendship actually having trouble with that very subject. "You're joking, Princess! Gotta be!"

"Well, she IS only a pony, after all; capable of mistakes, same as everypony else."

"Overly socially awkward, but talented with magic...noticing a theme here when it comes to who you mentor..." Sunset said, Celestia actually giving a grin at that. True enough. She reached out and put a hand on her old student's shoulder, "Come on...let's go see how we can help with that transportation method between Konoha and Equestria."

Sunset beamed at that.

As they made their way out of the room, it felt good. Both happy to have reconciled with one another at last.

* * *

Sakura paced in the main room, her thoughts being a conflicting mess that made her furrow her brow in confusion.

A few of the others had passed by her, but she only just barely noticed. She had a lot on her mind...about the story they were reading, the comments made, and about Sasuke and how conflicted she was about him.

She couldn't believe how angry everyone was getting with her over what her alternate self in the story did. She wasn't as bad a person to Naruto as the version of her in the book made her look like.

 _"Ah...but didn't you ridicule Naruto behind his back, then go cry and beg like a pathetic brat to have him get you what you wanted?"_ a nasty voice in the back of her head said. She flinched at that. She regretted that she still recalled what she'd said about Naruto to Sasuke when they'd first been made into a team...

 _"You know why he's so annoying? Cause he wasn't raised right. He doesn't have a mother or father, no one to teach him right from wrong. Think about it, he just does whatever comes into his head. If I did hings like Naruto, forget it. I mean my parents would get mad and I'd get in trouble, so of course I don't do it; but if you don't have parents to tell you, how would you know? He's selfish and bratty, he's all alone!"_

She shuddered at the recollection...god above help her if anyone here found out...Minato and Kushina especially! They'd done nothing BUT show Naruto unconditional love and support!...figures the only reason they'd be out of Naruto's life at all was if they were no longer alive, they weren't immortal; after all.

She remembered how Naruto had risked his life against both Orochimaru's hand-picked eleits as well as agaisnt a Curse-infused Sasuke and had almost been killed all because of it; and after that, how he'd pretty much wasted three years of his life trying to rescue someone that didn't want to be saved.

It brought to mind what Naruto had said earlier about how all she had to do was wait...that since Sasuke wasn't around anymore, she couldn't see everyone and everything else around her as simply being "in the way" of her and Sasuke, and that lack helped shaped her up with everything from training to attitude.

Was that actually the case? Was she really that horrible to people if she saw them as an obstacle between her and Sasuke? She knew it took her a long time to understand how her crush, and supposed "one true love" wasn't so perfect like she originally made him out to be. She'd have to own that...especially after what happened in the Land of Iron. Yet even after having pronounced Sasuke "irredeemable", she'd still been like her old self from three years ago towards the idea of being around him.

It made a sick, unwholsome feeling well up in her like bile and thrash like a trapped snake. She hated feeling like this! Destracted by all her thoughts, she was hardly aware of much else as she entered, what she assumed due to her distracted state, was her suite in this artifical dimension.

As she entered it, Sakura closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, composing herself. But when she opened her eyes, she realized just how distracted with her thoughts she'd actually been.

This...wasn't her room

The rosette's first thought about the room: gross.

Her second was that with how much like a hive it was, Shino would like this place.

The room resembled the inside of an insect mound carved in stone, with glowing gems acting as "lighting". And in place of a bed, there was a hammock made out of slime woven together with some glowing threads that looked like a magical web of sorts.

And lounging on a jagged stone throne of sorts was...

"What are you doing here?" Chrysalis said, irritated at seeing just whom had entered her room. Out of everyone in the little "book club" they were all stuck in, if Chrysalis had to pick someone the LEAST likely to consider food; Sakura would be it.

The girl reeked of obsession enough to make the Changeling sick, everyone was talking smack about Sasuke and Sakura...and Haruno was quickly losing "love" from the people around her. It made her less "appetizing".

In all honesty, Chrysalis saw the girl as more of an annoyance than anything else.

The Haruno glared at the Changeling Queen. "Shut it. Just had a lot on my mind and wandered in here. After all, why else would anyone besides you be in here?"she snapped.

Chrysalis snarled at that. Why this little...! Then she smirked nastily and recalled a new spell she was working on. Chrysalis wasn't stupid. She knew her lack of knowlage about Twilight and Cadance's PERSONAL history with one another was what gave away that she was an imposter.

And it looked like she'd just found a gunie pig.

Her horn glowed and a bean shot out of her horn and hit Sakura in the head, Sakura cried out in pain as it felt like something was ripping a chunk out of her brain. Before the surrounding rippled and changed, then to Sakura's shock, what she'd recently had go through her mind was suddenly projected around them.

At hearing what Sakura told Sasuke about her old oppinion of Naruto being a selfish brat because he lacked parental diciplen; Chrysalis cackled. "Oh...that is just rich! Saying THAT to someone that didn't have a family! I'm actually surprised Sasuke didn't light you on fire for that! I just knew learning this memory-projection spell would be worth it!"

Once she calmed down, she smirked at the kunoichi, "You truely are two-faced, aren't you?"

"Shut up! I just...I didn't think before I said that, is all! I'm not that bad a person!" Sakura said defensivly.

"Oh? Then answer me this: since you learning to even give people a chance resulted from how hurt you felt from him telling you off, if Sasuke hadn't gotten upset with you, how different would you actually be from the version in that story, hmmm?"

Sakura flinched at the question. She couldn't deny that. It was after she'd been told off by Sasuke that she decided to be nicer to Naruto...give him a chance to let her see him as more than just an annoyance. After she had, she'd come to see the one she had saw so poorly was actually a good guy. He'd even risked his life trying to get Sasuke back. Nearly died trying to ensure her happiness! Yet she'd been too blind to see the quality of his heart until then!

The shapeshifting monarch chuckled darkly. Enjoying the girl's inner conflict. "As I thought...Arrogant, moody, short tempered, trigger happy, obsessed, easily jealous, and split-minded are your flaws...ones you still need to work out of your system. I admit you _are_ different from in the tale in a much more positive sense, but exactly how much had to happen for you to develop away from being that person?"

Sakura grit her teeth. That...that was a twisted thing to say! Even if that had been on her mind, this insect-horse thing didn't have to point that out!

"So what do you think I should do, then?" the girl challenged, to which she got a shrug in return.

"That, I'm unsure of. But it isn't my cross to bare, anyways." The queen Changling said dismissively.

Sakura looked ready to shout at her, but a green aura surrounded the pinkette and she was suddenly flung out of the room, the door glowing green and closing in accordance to Chrysalis' magic behind her.

Sakura was surprised when a lavender-tinted hand entered her field of vision and she took it, surprised to see it was Twilight Sparkle helping her to her feet.

"Hate her..." The kunoichi growled, glaring at the door to the shapeshifter's room.

Seeing where the girl was glaring, Twilight nodded grimly.

" ** _Don't_** have to tell me. She brainwashed my brother, imprisoned and impersonated my sister-in-law, and attempted an invasion to destroy everypony and everything I care about, all to parasitically vampirize all positive feelings in Equestria and gorge herself on them—AND ALL ON THEIR WEDDING DAY!" Twilight said, her voice growing progressively louder until she was shouting at the top of her lungs in her rage towards the shapshifter.

"No wonder she's so pissed—her kind must be starving with her in charge." Sakrua growled, to which Twilight laughed.

"Say...Twilight...?"

The Princess of Friendship looked at the girl.

"As much as I don't like her...she had some points about me. Flaws in my character...judging people before I get to know them...I...I wanna change that. I admit that before, I was a pretty selfish person...not as bad as in the story, but still...I I wanna fix that. But I...I'm scared. Need some help and guidance. Not be seen as someone there that just fills a slot. But how can people find me dependable if my own nature as a person is what makes it so they don't have reason to trust me...that's why I..."

"Wanna become a better person so they give you a fair chance rather than drive people away by being something negative?" Twilight supplied.

Sakura nodded. It did bother her. She'd been seen as a useless dead-weight before, and it stung. She'd wanted to fix that about herself,so she'd turned to becoming Tsunade's student and worked to mature both as a Kunoichi and as a person, but if her flaws were still that overbearing, no one would give her a chance to show she was good.

She winced...want to be seen as something good, never given the chance to prove it...sounded like the theme of Naruto's life. Heck...who was she kidding? That WAS the theme of Naruto's life!

"So...what are they?" Twilight asked.

"Huh?"

"What're your flaws? Do you at least know them? Can't help without knowing where to start fixing things." The human-shaped Alicorn girl clarified.

The Haruno sighed, "From what I've been told; I'm arrogant, moody, short tempered, trigger happy, obsessive, easily jealous, and split-minded." she repeated what Chrysalis said her bad points were.

Twilight reached out and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "We'll work on the temper first. I admit, I'm not an anger management expert, but I can at least listen and try to help."

Sakura gave the mare a thankful smile as they made their way towards Twilight's room.


	12. Chapter 12

"Here. I'll do this one." Tenten offered, taking the book as everyone sat down and opened to the third-to-last chapter.

 **Chapter 10: Spread Your Wings**

 **Five blurs moved quickly through the forests of Hi no Kuni, heading for the village of Konoha. Three of the blurs had a target in mind for their master while the other two were given their own separate target.**

 **In the first group were three males. One had silver hair and what looked to be two heads with the second facing the opposite direction. The other had brown hair styled in a spiked and rising ponytail and six arms. The last had orange hair in a mohawk style and looked to be on the slightly heavier side.**

 **This group's members were Sakon and Ukon, Kidomaru, and Jirobo.**

"THOSE GUYS?!" Naruto sqwaked, while the members of the Sasuke Retreval team that were present scowled.

 **The second group had two females, both with stunning red hair. The first wore a bandaged cap over her head, brown eyes, and let her hair spill out from behind while a fringe of it came down the front. The other had her hair half smooth and half frizzy, matching red eyes framed by glasses, and a sharp gaze.**

 **These two women were Tayuya and Karin.**

"Wait a second...! That's...! No way...! She's...!" Naruto sputtered, then let out a sigh as he slumped over, his eyes rolling back in his head, out cold.

"Uhh..." Rainbow dash said as all the mares looked concerned for Naruto while most of the ninjas looked stunned at the image of Karin on the projector.

"That Karin girl...they've actually met. We helped her out after she was hurt and brought her back with us to Konoha! They're related?!" Sakura gawked.

 ** _"WHAT?!"_** everyone all cried in sheer shock at that. Sure some of the Konoha Eleven had actually been there in the Land of Iron when they had been heading back home, but they never would've thought her and Naruto were related!

"So it means he actually has another living family member?!" Celiestia said, eyes wide.

"OK! THIS CALLS FOR A CELIBRATION! NOBODY'S STOPPING THIS!" Pinkie Pie cheered, actually shooting up in the air with streamers, confetti, and balloons somehow exploding off of her like a firework going off and bolted into her room to get ready to throw Naruto a party for having another living family member.

The mares all beamed, feeling glad. Naruto deserved it. They all honestly felt that way. No wonder he'd fainted from shock.

After a moment to compose herself, the brunette weapon mistress resumed giving her attention to the book.

 **"How much farther until we get there?" asked Jirobo to Sakon, who had taken point.**

 **"We have another three or four miles. We'd be making better time if you picked up the pace, lardo."**

 **The orangette scowled at that while Kidomaru chuckled and the two redheads smirked. Karin then spoke up, "Kabuto ordered Tayuya and I to split off from you three when we reached the one mile mark."**

"...Orochimaru...he's..." Kushina sputtered, realizing why the two redheads were there, honestly horrified. Then she paled, her body suddenly trembling. "...That bastard...is nothing sacred to him...?!"

"Yeah...his own twisted deillusions of grandure!" Chrysalis chuckled.

 **"Fine by me," answered the silverette. "I could do without the bitch squad anyway."**

 **"Fuck you, you Siamese bastard!" Tayuya shot back. "Not our fault you were born a conjoined drag queen!"**

Kiba, still remembering what the two fushion twins had done to him and Akamaru, laughed. Far as he was concerned, those two deserved shots like that.

The mares, however, looked disgusted by the Sound Ninjas' language.

 **The six-armed male laughed loudly at that while Ukon started to mutter death threats from his place connected to his brother. "I'd watch that attitude, Tayuya," warned Sakon. "Don't forget who's the strongest of our group."**

 **"Oh, I haven't," replied the woman with a cruel smirk. "Too bad Bonehead ain't here, huh? Ain't that a bitch?"**

"Bonehead?" Shikamaru frowned. That had to be that last guy...the one Naruto went after while he faced the redhead. But why would he have a nickname like that?

 **Karin shook her head in amusement before she tapped her fellow female and the two split off from the males before Sakon or Ukon could retort. Once they were out of sight, Ukon commented, "I can't stand that insufferable bitch."**

 **"Ah, quit bitchin' about it," Kidomaru said from behind him. "Orochimaru-sama told us that their target is much stronger than the Uchiha,**

Everyone in the main room, fully aware of Sasuke's ego issues as well as him having both a superiority and inferiority complex, chuckled at that. Oh...if only Sasuke knew Naruto's counterpart in the story was held in higher regards by ALL THREE Sanin than his own was...! His reaction would've been priceless!

 **so if you're lucky they'll be killed by him."**

 **"Fingers crossed," muttered Sakon, making Ukon nod while Jirobo stayed silent.**

 **[Konoha Hospital]**

 **Naruto was seated in a chair in his sensei's room with a small stack of papers rested on his lap while he held a diagram in his hands. The diagram was his personal notes and tweaks concerning the removal or modification of the Ten no Juin (Cursed Seal of Heaven) that he had sketched from his observations of the one on his Uchiha teammate. He had also looked at the Snake Mistress' mark as well; after swearing to tell her as soon as he made a breakthrough, of course.**

Anko's jaw dropped, then she looked over at Naruto, who had yet to wake up, suddenly VERY tempted to kiss him. Sure, her Curse Mark was already gone, but that didn't change the fact that she knew full well that if he had the means avalable to him then the kid really would do that, regardless of whatever reality he was in. He was honestly that much of a big-hearted/open-hearted sweetie!

 **Standing next to him, in her natural pony, form was Twilight who was going over the notes with him. She had her eyes narrowed in concentration as she looked through the original seal and compared it to the changes Naruto was making.**

Twilight nodded. It was serious, complex, delicate work...just the way she liked it best, and it was to help others, so of course she'd help with figuring a method out for that!

 **So far, the violet unicorn found nothing wrong with his work and her summoner was currently working on the largest and final revision of the seal.**

 **"Everything looks to be in order, Naruto," Twilight stated. "You just need to finish the final piece."**

"Shame I couldn't see the work and calculation formula from start to finish...would really have helped figure something out for you, Anko." the Princess of Friendship said.

Anko grinned. Sure cute stuff and ponies weren't really her thing, but it was hard not to find these Equestria types endearing at the very least.

 **"Thanks for looking it over, Twilight-chan," replied the blonde as he kept his focus on the diagram in his hands, missing her small blush. "I hope Rarity is finished with the shop detailing. I can't help but feel as if something is going to happen soon."**

 **"You could just be slightly paranoid," suggested Twilight.**

"All things considered, if only it was just that." Celestia winced.

 **However, the Jinchuriki shook his head with a frown. "No, that's not it… I know something is going to happen, but I just don't know what it is yet."**

"Ugh...HATE that." Tsunade groaned, to which everyone nodded.

 **"Sounds to me like your being cautious, which is good for your position," commented a slightly tired voice, making the other two occupants turn to see Kakashi awake. He eye smiled at his student while the covers of his bed hid the lower half of his face. "It's good to see you're alright, Naruto. I was worried when Itachi said that he was after you."**

Luna looked over at Naruto and frowned before her horn glowed and Naruto jerked awake. "Whoa..!" the blond yelped, then put a hand to his head.

"You ok, Darling?" Sunset asked.

"...I...I don't know..." he said to the girl in his lap, "...j-ju-ju-just give me a minute..."

Sunset nodded to he-who-she-adored, it was perfectly understandable. And of all the ways to learn he had further blood relations, this book droping bombs like that so casually...well, confused didn't even begin to cover what Naruto was feeling at that point. He barely adsorbed much else, lost to the emotions boiling inside him.

 **"Well if it helps, I never ran into him. I was in the Summon Realm when he was looking for me. Although, it's definitely worrisome that someone of his caliber is after me."**

 **"Unfortunately, this kind of situation was bound to happen considering your status."**

Kushina glared at her husband.

 **The blonde sighed as he leaned back into his chair tiredly. "You don't gotta remind me, sensei."**

 **Twilight gave a small smile at the interaction between the two humans. It was obvious that the older male sincerely worried for her friend and that the blonde responded in kind for his teacher. Deciding to let them talk in private, she stated, "I'll see you later, Naruto-kun."**

Everyone but Chrysalis smirled. It was sweet of Twilight's other to want them to talk like that.

 **He smiled at her in reply and nodded before she left in a small puff of smoke. He then turned to his teacher who had a raised brow. "She's one of my summons. A few months back, I found the lost Contract of my clan; the Kouma."**

 **"Ponies…?" asked the slightly confused Jonin.**

 **"It covers a broad spectrum of equines, sensei. But we're getting off topic. What did Itachi do to you exactly, Kakashi-sensei? The pervert told me that he quote 'mind fucked' Sasuke and did the same to you."**

 **The Jonin sighed tiredly with a far off look. "The Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)… A highly advanced genjutsu revolving around the Mangekyou Sharingan."**

 **"Mangekyou?"**

 **"It is the most advanced stage of the Sharingan that I know of, and requiring it involves acts of the heinous caliber. Apparently, Itachi was rumored to have gained his after killing off his friend Shisui Uchiha.**

The mares gasped, utterly horrified.

Naruto, for his part, bit his tongue hard enough to taste blood. He wanted to come to Itachi's defense so badly...! To tell the mares that he was no devil...just a Fallen Angel whose wings were black. Confess the truth of the man's actions and how he martyred himself, and even in death had still fought the good fight, literally!

He really was hating his promise to Itachi to keep the truth hidden.

 **The Tsukuyomi is one of the techniques that come with the eyes and it traps the victim in a place where the caster controls time and space. I was in there for days when only a couple of seconds at most passed in the real world."**

 **"Dear Kami…" whispered Naruto, trying to imagine what his sensei could've been put through in that time. "No wonder you were hospitalized."**

 **"Yea… Listen to me Naruto," began Kakashi in a dead serious tone, "if you ever run into Itachi in the future, do _not_ look into his eyes. If you do…it'll be over in an instant."**

Naruto nodded, then again...Itachi was aware of that, and had honed himself to the point that he could cast genjutsu just by pointing, for heck's sake! Dangerously pragmatic guy...

 **Naruto frowned at that and nodded in understanding. "I understand, sensei. I have no plans to meet that man anyway."**

 **"Good," sighed his teacher in relief. "You're very important Naruto, and not just because you hold the Kyuubi."**

 **"I know… Heh, I'm _his_ child after all."**

Naruto smirked happily at his mom and dad, which they gladly responded to in kind.

 **The Jonin widened his open eye and looked to his student in surprise, only to see a bored look on his face. "How long have you known?"**

 **The blonde shrugged and answered, "Since the Forest of Death. Orochimaru told me when I fought him." He then frowned and added, "I'm not happy that my own father sealed the fox into me. I understand why he did it, but I'm still pissed off."**

Minato sighed miserabily.

 **"Naruto, I know you have every right to be mad, but could you ask anyone else to give up their own child if you were in his shoes?"**

Everyone in the room thought about that for a moment and winced.

 **"…No. I would never put another family through what I've lived." He then sighed exhaustedly. "Look sensei, I understand his reasons; I do. But, I still went through a rough life because of him and whoever instigated the attack."**

 **"Instigated? The fox attacking was a random occurrence."**

Naruto winced, grabbing his head as he felt Kurama get worked up at that, roaring protests.

 **"Is that what the Sandaime told you?" retorted the blonde with straight face. "I know the truth, sensei. My mother held the fox before I did and it was ripped from her by someone with a Sharingan. I don't know if it was an Uchiha or someone with an implant like you, but I have no doubt that the bastard is still out there. I'm gonna find him," he declared as he stood up and sealed away his notes before heading to the door. "And _end_ him."**

While everyone else winced, Chrysalis nodded in full approval. And in all honesty, if the blond's interactions with his parents here were any indication, it made sense that his other would have a chip on the shoulder at being denied such a caring family because of someone else's actions.

Call it justice, call it revenge. It all looked the same when dealt upon those who wronged a person so badly. That was something she fully understood and thoroughly enjoyed.

 **Kakashi cringed at the cold tone in his student's voice as he left. Sighing once more, he tried to get some more rest while thinking over the revelation of one of the darkest nights in Konoha's history.**

 _'Obito...'_ Everyone of the ninjas all thought. It was really hard not to hate the guy, even if he had repented and given his life in an attempt to make things right in the end, he'd had a hand in causing so much suffering, death and destruction, it was hard to want to forgive.

 **[Uzumaki Shōten]**

 **Naruto had to admit that Rarity really went all out for his shop. The entire structure of the building had been repaired so that it stood firm. The walls had been painted a deep red while the symbol of his clan was painted on the ceiling and encompassed the entire space. The floor was layered with smoothed redwood planks that gave it a nice look while empty shelves were spaced perfectly so that there was enough room to maneuver around the place. The outside of the building was a dark orange with a black trim, which the stylish unicorn said was tribute to her summoner's favorite color.**

Seeing the work her alternate had done on the shop, Rarity smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

 **All in all, the Uzumaki Shōten looked like a professional and well placed building for future business in Konoha.**

 **"Rarity… I don't know what else to say other than I love it," praised the blonde as he looked around the shop.**

Rarity smiled at Naruto, delighted he loved her work. It felt good knowing her talent with beautification was a universal fact of her existance.

 **The unicorn, in her human form, smiled proudly from behind the check-out counter. "Why thank you, Naruto. It really was a lot of work, but it was without a doubt worth it. Now this place looks simply splendid and you can open up any time you wish."**

 **She lost her smile in place of a surprised blush as Naruto hugged her. "Thanks a lot Rarity. It's perfect."**

Rarity nodded, heeling proud of herself...litteraly! Her other did a good job.

 **She smiled and hugged him back before they pulled back slightly. Naruto had a grin in place with his eyes closed while she stared into his face with her face growing redder. Gaining the nerve to, she leaned up and gently melded her lips to his, making his eyes widen in surprise. It only lasted a short while before he began to kiss her back with one hand gently caressing her face.**

"Spike would really hate this..." Applejack muttered to her friends, they all nodded. Twilight wincing at the idea.

 **Rarity was on cloud nine as soon as her lips made contact. It was just as Rainbow Dash said; warm, soft, and filled with a promise to protect her. When they pulled back, they both were bright red and she couldn't help but giggle at his nervous grin.**

 **"I'll take _that_ as my reward, Naruto-kun," stated the woman before she kissed his cheek. "Now, all that is needed for this shop is merchandise and workers to run it for you."**

 **Naruto nodded, still blushing faintly at the kiss they shared. "I can get seals made fairly quickly, but I'm not sure who to ask to run the place."**

 **"If I could make a suggestion," began the Element of Generosity, "I believe that my sister and her friends could run this place for you. They've been quite anxious to help you out in any way, Naruto-kun. Running a shop won't be too hard so long as we teach them the basics and how to answer potential questions customers will have."**

Ino, having been brought up working in a shop herself, nodded thoughtfully at that.

 **The blonde thought it over and saw the merit in the idea. "Alright, we'll teach them how to operate a shop first before we give them a trial period."**

 **"Wonderful!" exclaimed Rarity with a clap of her hands. "I'll go tell them now." She then gave Naruto one last peck on the lips before she returned to the Summon Realm.**

 **Blush returning, Naruto shook his head with a smile before he left his shop and locked it up with his security seals. Pleased with how his plans were coming along well, he made his way back home.**

 **As he walked, he slowly lost his smile in place of a straight face as he felt as if he was being followed.**

"Here we go..." Celestia said with a wince.

 **He tried to sense any negative emotions in the area, but he couldn't pinpoint the location of his follower. Deciding to take action, he began to go through the back ways of the village streets, hoping to lose them in the sharp turns and thin alleys.**

 **Unfortunately, it didn't make a difference. It was like they knew where he was going right he made the decision. His senses suddenly went haywire though when he felt a dark essence similar to the Juin on Sasuke. He frowned at this before he leapt onto a nearby roof and sped off to one of the training fields at high speed.**

 **Taking a quick look back, he saw two women with red hair following him. This surprised him since it was the same coloration as the Uzumaki Clan. _'What the hell's going on here?'_**

"Ok, are redheads really THAT rare where you guys are from, and is Naruto supposed to be related to everyone that has red hair?" Applejack asked.

Naruto shrugged, he had no clue.

 **He landed in an empty field and turned to face his followers with a kunai at the ready. Once they landed, he got a good look at them. The first wore a bandaged hat and had her brown eyes narrowed at him. She wore a tan tunic, black shorts, black sandals, and a purple rope belt.**

Rarity gogged. "That snake made his outfit into a uniform?" she said in disgust.

Tsunade shook her head.

 **The second had her red hair half straight and half frizzy and matching eyes behind rimmed glasses. She wore a lavender uniform that exposed her navel, short black shorts, and long black thigh high stockings with black sandals.**

 **The spectacled one spoke up first while fixing her glasses. "Finally got you alone… How _you_ could be an Uzumaki, I don't think I'll ever know."**

Kushina narrowed her eyes as Naruto flinched at the remark from his potential cousin. There was something about that remark coming from someone he'd be related to that stung.

 **"You say that as if you were one," Naruto retorted, testing the waters in a way.**

 **"Pft, of course I am and I have better proof than you do, Blondie," shot back the woman.**

 **"What makes you think I'm not an Uzumaki?"**

 **"Cut the crap, Karin," admonished the other woman irritably. "We were told to take him with us, not bitch at him."**

 **Karin scowled at her fellow redhead. "I'm not bitching! I'm pointing out facts! Sure, he has high chakra but that can account to being a Jinchuriki! He do** **esn't have our family hair color and has shown nothing associated with our clan!"**

"Wrong move!" Kushina couldn't help but laugh, even if she saw the girl's point.

"Ok...that made it sound like being a redhead's a mandatory requirement to even have Uzumaki blood in your veins. And that by that logic, not only would he be related to EVERY redhead in your world, but Naruto isn't even a real Uzumaki since his hair color's different." Twilight frowned. That sounded completely idiotic.

 **Her senses suddenly went off and she jumped back from a golden chain stabbing into the ground where she once stood. She followed it to Naruto's outstretched right arm and flinched at the cold stare he gave her.**

Kushina couldn't help shaking her head. You were saying, Karin?

 **"I can tolerate a lot of things, but I refuse to have anyone deny my own blood," he calmly declared, fluxing his chakra furiously.**

 **Karin paled at the sheer force of chakra building up inside Naruto's core. "Tayuya, we gotta move!" she yelled as she leapt into the trees followed closely by the Oto Four member.**

 **Naruto shot off after them, cracking the ground from the force of his leap. "You're not going anywhere!" he roared.**

"Well, well, well...looks like those siamese guys just might get their wish after all..." the Changeling Queen said, having seen what Naruto's alternate could do enough times to know by now what he could do.

 **The two women shot away from the village and began making their way towards the Valley of the End and Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields). "Dammit Karin! You just had to piss him off, didn't you?!" raged Tayuya.**

Chrysalis hooted in amusement at that. Oh...stuff like this always gave her a good laugh!

 **"Look, I'm sorry alright?!" yelled back Karin. "I didn't think he'd go all ballistic on us!"**

"Either way, she should've watched her mouth." Shikimaru muttered, ashen faced. If the book was right, than him and Temari had ended up KILLING a family member of one of his friends...how the hell was a person supposed to apologize for or make something like THAT right?!

 **A sudden blur passed them and they stopped jumping as soon as they saw the blonde standing on a branch ahead of them with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. His branch was on a higher level than theirs, so he was looking down at them.**

 **"Where do you two think you're going?" he asked calmly.**

 **Tayuya pulled out her flute and readied it while Karin pulled out a kunai. "Look, we're only here to have you come with us," Tayuya said. "We never meant to insult you or your connection to our clan."**

Naruto shifted, feeling awkward at hearing that.

 **Naruto raised a brow at that. " _Our_ clan, huh? So you two _are_ Uzumaki then…" He smirked as his eyes closed. "And here I thought I'd have to go searching for more of my people. Are there others?"**

 **"Not that we know of," Karin answered, still wary of the blonde attacking.**

 **"Tell me, are you both aware of our clan history and highest rule?"**

"With having to work under Orochimaru? Not likely." Fluttershy said.

 **Both women looked to one another, confused at the question. "I have basic history about our clan," Karin informed. "But I've never heard of a 'highest rule' concerning it."**

 **"I just know what Karin told me," admitted Tayuya.**

 **"I see… A pity that you both know so little. But then, I guess not everyone has access to the personal writings of one of our greatest members." He frowned at them as his chakra chains poked out of his back. "Mito-sama would be so ashamed of you both, insulting a member of our _family_."**

 **"Look, we're sorry, okay?" Karin apologized in a hopeful tone.**

 **"What do you mean _we_?!" cried Tayuya in anger. "I'm not the one who pissed him off!"**

Chrysalis chuckled at that.

 **"Okay okay, _I'm_ sorry!"**

 **"Why should I believe you now? You could be trying to get me to lower my guard and take me to Orochimaru."**

 **"How did you know that?" gasped out Tayuya.**

 **"Please… You think I'm unaware of his interest in me? He practically screamed it at me in the Forest of Death. Plus, I sense his taint on you," he informed, pointing at Tayuya. "He must really want our legacy in his hands if he marked you. Do you even know what that thing does to you?"**

 **"It gives me power that was promised to me!" yelled the flute wielder.**

 **"Is that a fact?" whispered Naruto into her ear from behind, making her jump away in shock. Karin looked between both blondes before she cursed quietly as the one in the trees vanished in a puff of smoke.**

 **"Of course it is," retorted Tayuya as she activated the first stage of her mark. "I can already feel myself getting stronger."**

 **Shaking his head, Naruto held up a half ram seal, making the woman tense before she felt all of her strength leave her. "Oh yea, that's _some_ power there," sarcastically remarked the blonde. "It's so powerful that I'm shaking in my boots. That power is nothing more than a highly believable lie that he's fooled you with. It gives you power, yes; but it also destroys your mind, weakens your body after use, and ensures that the bastard can use your body to stay alive. You're nothing more than another skin for that snake to wear after shedding another."**

Naruto saw red at that.

 **"Shut up, you fucking bastard!" raged Tayuya. "What would you know about Orochimaru anyway?! You've never had to deal with him for most of your life! You've never lived in fear of dying under his sick experiments!"**

Everyone flinched at that.

 **Karin flinched at that, having administered a few of those experiments on others herself under orders. It was cruel seeing what the effects were, and she felt sick at seeing the fascination in the white snake's eyes.**

"Not really her fault...with Orochimaru, you're either an asset or an experiment..." Anko said icily.

 **"You're right," Naruto admitted. "I don't know about life under those conditions. However, I _do_ know that he has messed with my family." His eyes began to glow as his chakra fluxed again. "And I…"**

 **Karin paled again as it reached Jonin level and kept rising.**

 **"…refuse…"**

 **It grew to the level Orochimaru had.**

 **"…to let that damn snake…"**

 ** _'These are Bijuu levels!'_ she mentally cried as she and Tayuya backed up from the pure blue shroud of chakra leaking from the blonde.**

 **"…harm my family anymore!" roared Naruto as his chakra spiked to max levels. Both women had their eyes widen in pure shock as two large wings covered in orange feathers sprouted from Naruto's back. They looked worn and battle scarred as they opened up to full length, making him look like a winged veteran under the rising moonlight.**

Everyone's jaws dropped at the displayed image.

"Eh...the setting and lighting helps, props on the professional-grade work, Luna." Naruto said to the Moon Princess, even if she didn't control the moon in his world, he had to admit the image of a winged fighter (even if it was himself) with the full moon rising behind him like that was very impressive.

Luna smiled at the praise and recognition. "Thank you, I try."

 **They flapped once and Naruto took off into the air in an instant before he shot off in the direction of Otogakure (Sound Village) at high speed.**

 **Karin turned to her fellow clan member and yelled, "We gotta move!"**

 **Tayuya nodded and they both took off as fast as they could back to their base.**

 **In another part of Konoha, Sasuke had just knocked out Sakura and left the village.**

Sakura shrank in her seat at that.

 **He had snuck out of his hospital room after being approached by the other members of the Oto Four and informed of the power Orochimaru could offer him. The only reason Sakura was there was because she had seen Sasuke head to his compound and knew that he had plans to leave.**

"Funny...from the way you told it to me, it was a case of abduction rather than defection..." Tsunade said to her student.

Sakura gulped.

 **[With Naruto]**

 **The blonde Jinchuriki was soaring across the skies as he made his way further and further into Ta no Kuni in search of dark chakra sources. He pinpointed a few before he got a general location and dove down like a bullet. His eyes flashed red from the Kyuubi's influence as he was engulfed in a bright orange light and crashed underground in his alicorn form.**

"More like a twisted version of it..." Luna shuddered, feeling strongly reminded of Nightmare Moon by the story-Naruto's current mindset.

She looked over at Celestia as her sister took her hand and squeezed it to comfort her.

 **His eyes had become blood red with black slit pupils as he stood tall in the underground base. A snarl escaped his lips as he bared his sharp fangs at the converging Oto ninja.**

 ** _"Come on,"_ he growled out as his horn let off an orange light. All that the ninja saw was a flash of light before they were blasted by a burst of mana. He snorted at the downed ninja before he made his way deeper into the base, slowly shifting back into his natural form as he walked. His chains snaked out from his skin and struck at anyone foolish enough to get close.**

"Yeah...definitely a "Nightmare" Alicorn..." Sunset said, feeling uneasy at this. She understood why Darling's other was acting like that, but that didn't make it any easier seeing it.

 **He suddenly ducked under a volley of shuriken before, from a crouched position, held a dragon handseal and sent his four chain tips at the ninja ahead. He fluxed his chakra and had each tip form a Rasengan and plow into the enemies with a whisper of, "Tajū Rasen Yari(Multiple Spiral Spear)."**

Everyone winced, sure the Sound ninjas were the bad guys, but given the other Naruto's current mindset, odds were those people were dead.

 **His chains retreated back into his skin as he kept moving, entering an open spaced room with a snake statue on the opposite wall with glowing yellow eyes. A single seat was placed on the head of the statue and Naruto's eyes narrowed at the sight of Orochimaru on his "throne".**

 **The man chuckled darkly at seeing the Uzumaki he had grown so interested in. "Kukuku... Naruto-kun, so good to see you again."**

 **"Orochimaru…"**

 **"Come now; there's no need for the glare," admonished the man. "I'm not your enemy after all, Naruto-kun. I seek to aid you, not hinder you."**

Anko snorted. She so called bullshit to that!

 **"Really?" asked the blonde in disbelief. "Then explain to me why a member of my _family_ has your cursed hickey. How is that helping me, knowing that a fellow Uzumaki is bound to you?"**

 **The paled skinned man stepped down from the statue head with his smirk never leaving his face. "If you seek to have it removed from her, then I could easily do so…provided you renounce Konoha and join me."**

 **"Join you for what, exactly?"**

 **"Why the conjoining of the entire Elemental Nations under a single banner, of course. As well as deciphering the truth of ninjutsu and chakra."**

"You really had to work with someone this crazy?" Rainbow dash asked Tsunade.

"Don't remind me..." the slug-summoner groaned.

 **"And helping find a way to keep you immortal, right?" asked the Uzumaki with his arms crossed. "I know what you fear, snake. Why else would you target my family and mark one of them with you Juin?"**

 **"Oh, it appears you know quite a bit about my goals, Naruto-kun. I wonder, did that fool Jiraiya tell you?"**

 **"He told me about why the Sandaime chased you out of Konoha… Well, more like _let you go_ ," he stated before correcting himself with a scowl. _'Just another mistake you made, old man.'_**

Everyone looked sick at that.

 **"I see… Kukuku… It seems like I can't try and use wit against you when you know so much, eh Naruto-kun?" His smirk grew as he and Naruto slowly circled one another with no movements between the two of raising their guard or attacking. "Tell me, what was your goal in coming here? I assume it was retaliation for attempting to have two of your family members try and sway you to my cause?"**

Minato and Kushina growled.

 **Unknown to him, said women had finally made it the base after pushing their bodies to the limit. They stayed out of sight while Karin hid both of their c** **hakra levels from the senses of both males.**

 **"That's part of it," admitted Naruto. "I'm also curious about something."**

 **"Oh, and that would be…?"**

 **"I'm wondering why our summon contracts hate each other so much? My Head Summon stated that yours and his underlings attempted to overtake their part of the Summon Realm. But I can't help but feel as if there's more to it."**

The mares all looked especially interested at that.

 **"And you wish to have me tell you?" asked the man, making Naruto nod slowly. "I suppose it has something to do with Manda causing one of your summon creature to renounce something known as the Creed. Kukuku… Poor thing; it's tragic what the repercussions of her actions were. She became deformed and closed off her heart to any and _every_ one. But, I suppose that's what you get for going against something spoken so reverently."**

 **Naruto growled at that and gritted out, "Who was it? Who did Manda deceive?"**

 **"Oh, just some poor soul named Chrysalis, the self proclaimed _Queen of the Changelings_. I suppose the gift of becoming whomever she wished helped soothe the shame of betraying her people."**

"WHAT?!"

"LYING BASTARD!" Chrysalis shouted, mortally offended and utterly scandalized at the accusation. She was NEVER a pony!

 **Naruto's eyes bled red at that before he forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath before he looked the Sannin dead in the eye.**

 **"You know that I won't willingly join you, snake. However, I have a proposal."**

"Oh god...!" Naruto cried, horrified. His other...he wouldn't...!

 **Yellow eyes gleamed as Orochimaru replied, "Go on…"**

 **"I want three things: the immediate removal of the Juin from Uzumaki Tayuya and your word that she and Uzumaki Karin will be able to come with me without repercussion."**

 **"Easily doable, though I'm quite reluctant to do so," commented the man. "And the last condition…?"**

 **"I want the last known location of Chrysalis. Do those things and I won't take action against you turning Sasuke to your cause. I can feel his anger amplified from you Juin from here, so I know you had some of your subordinates take him away."**

"He left willingly." Choji growled.

 **"And what makes you think you can do anything? You're here and Sasuke-kun is on his way while I stand between you both. You and I know that you can't win against me, Naruto-kun."**

 **"True, I can't… But, that doesn't mean that I can't kill him from here and ruin your plans."**

"HELLO...!" Chrysalis grinned. She _liked_ where this was going!

 **The man raised a skeptical brow and asked, "How do you expect me to believe that?"**

 **Smirking, Naruto replied, "You weren't there when he was hospitalized. I was, and I left him a little…surprise should I be under the impression that he's a threat to Konoha and my family. Tell me Orochimaru, how can you take over the Uchiha when his body begins to break down from the inside…starting from his eyes?"**

 **The man's eyes widened at the question before his smirk finally left in place of a scowl. "You put a seal on him," he stated more than asked.**

 **"Of course," admitted Naruto. "My people were known for their seals and I studied ones meant for traitors and threats to my clan. The Arechi Fuiin (Desolation Seal) was by far the most…effective."**

"I wanna see that thing at work." Chrysalis said, enjoying the description of it. She enjoyed desolation and horrific deaths.

 **The Sannin gave a low hiss in anger at his oversight of the blonde doing anything to Sasuke. Knowing that he was cornered if he still wanted the Sharingan, he held up a half ram seal and stated, "Juin: Kai (Cursed Seal: Release)."**

 **From their position out of sight, Tayuya gripped her shoulder and gritted her teeth in pain as the Juin on her shoulder burned off of her skin completely.**

 **"It is done," Orochimaru said with his scowl still in place. "And your end…?"**

 **Naruto nodded and held the same handseal while declaring, "Fuiin: Kai (Seal: Release)." He kept the seal up for a few seconds before lowering his hand and nodding. "The seal is gone. Now, I'll be leaving and I'll keep my word. Sasuke is yours to do with as you please. But first, the location."**

Naruto covered his mouth swallowing his vomit, he was hating this!

Sunset spared him a glance before she stood up and Naruto bolted for their room, the sound of him hurling echoed through the space moments later as he let out a series of vomiting.

 **Orochimaru said nothing for a moment as he turned and headed down one of the hallways. Over his shoulder, he called out, "The last direction I saw her heading to were your peoples' ruins. I presume that she would be there living in exiled solitude."**

Twilight opened her mouth, then, given the heavy mood of the chapter, thought better of voicing the correction this time.

 **Naruto nodded, though the man didn't see it, before he headed back down the path he came from. As he walked, he called out, "You two can come out now. I knew where you were since Tayuya still had her Juin when you arrived."**

 **The two Uzumaki dropped from their hiding place and stood before their blonde family member. "…Why did you do that?" asked Tayuya in a whisper, still holding where her seal once resided.**

 **They were slightly surprised to see Naruto smile as he answered, "Because I believe in our peoples' Creed and I will do anything I can for my family; even go to the Nine Levels of Hell for them."**

"He would go that far for the people he cares about." Tsunade nodded.

 **He placed a comforting hand over hers as his smile softened. "You two…are my family, along with many others that I hope to introduce you to. I won't let anything happen to you, but I want you both to come with me. I don't want our people to be divided anymore, and I will do everything in my power to rebuild Uzu and bring our name back into the light."**

The mares all nodded.

 **Both of them stared at him in slight awe at the pure sincerity and determination behind his words. Slowly, hey gave small smiles in return and nodded to him. "Okay, we'll come with you," Karin stated.**

 **"Yea, I'm looking forward to what you have in store, Shithead," added Tayuya with a smirk.**

 **Naruto chuckled as he resumed his alicorn form, surprising them before he lowered himself. _"Alright then. Get on and we can head home."_**

 ** _'Home… That sounds nice,'_ both women thought before they got on his back. With a powerful flap of his wings, the three Uzumaki took off toward Konoha.**

 **Meanwhile, Orochimaru couldn't help but smirk at how well Naruto had played his proverbial hand. Truly, the blonde Uzumaki will be a worthy adversary in the future.**

"Well...at least he's given up on recruiting Naruto..." Celestia said, somewhat listlessly.

"Don't you dare judge him, any of you!" Sunset and Hinata both shouted, glaring at everyone else in the room.

 **But for now, he'd hold off on taking over the Uchiha. The boy still needed to have his body mature a bit more before he would be "ripe" enough for the snake's soul to inhabit.**

Tenten set the book down as the sound of Naruto continuing to puke continued.


End file.
